Kerrific as game plan points way to top spot
France have now lost four points from two home matches after Ireland succeeded in drawing with them in Paris, as did Israel in another scoreless game on September 4. The Irish performance gave particular satisfaction to Kerr.
He said: “It was very hard work for everyone out there but we had a good game plan. The players stuck to it and got the point, helped by the support we had out there.
“It was an excellent performance right through the team. The game plan was to keep possession, to work very hard around the pitch and pass the ball very well.
“We wanted to stop them down the left-hand side and take our chances when we got them. That was the one area in which we fell down but everything else went according to the way we wanted.
“We didn’t defend too deeply, we didn’t give away stupid free-kicks. We were disciplined under pressure. We knew there would be times in the game in which we didn’t see much of the ball. We had to dig in at those times.”
The result of Kerr’s preparations was a team performance of overall excellence, made special by the brilliant contributions of Kevin Kilbane and goalkeeper Shay Given. Ireland’s achievement in following up the draw they gained against Switzerland in Basle represented a big step forward.
Said Kerr: “We took a brave decision to take the two games away to Switzerland and France so early in the group. The two points we got have certainly kept the group alive for us. We would have settled for five points from the first three games.”
The results of the third series of matches in the group leave four teams tied on five points - Ireland, France, Israel and Switzerland. Further light will be shed on a competition that is growing in attraction on Wednesday when Ireland play Faroe Islands in Dublin and Cyprus are at home to France.
Ireland made a great start against France and the form of Clinton Morrison at that stage was outstanding. He caused the French centre-backs a great deal of trouble and had upset them to the point where they were arguing between themselves and conceding free-kicks. Morrison’s departure with a knee injury in the 41st minute was a blow.
Kerr revealed his thinking behind the introduction of Andy Reid as his replacement: “I had thought it out before the game that if we had a problem in the front positions, it would be either Andy or Gary Doherty who would go on.
“I thought, at that stage of the game, we were having a fair bit of joy passing it and playing it into the wide positions behind the full-backs who were trying to get tight to Damien Duff and Steve Finnan. I felt we should try to continue that.”
Reid played well after taking a little time to settle but the loss of Morrison was a blow because of his recent goal-scoring success against Switzerland and Cyprus. The worry now is that the knee injury will keep the Birmingham striker out for a while.
France were obviously below the level of the team that so spectacularly won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship of 2000. But they still had some exceptional attacking players in Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord.
Said Kerr: “There wasn’t a particular plan to deal with Henry, but we had a plan to deal with the entire French forward line. We had to be careful not to get caught out on the break because they are dangerous when they break away.
“It was down to good defending, good organisation and understanding what was required. We also had good goalkeeping.
“When we needed Shay (Given), he made the saves. He was very calm and caught everything quickly. There was one cross from Thierry Henry which he caught one-handed, there was a bit of the Pat Jennings about it.”
Kerr pinpointed the influence of Ireland’s midfield on the game and said of his team selection: “I was confident of the decisions I made. I make them based on my experience of the players and the knowledge of their form.
“I thought that was the right combination and I thought the way Roy (Keane) and Kevin (Kilbane) played particularly justified that decision. I had every confidence in them. I thought the two of them were fantastic in midfield.
“Kevin was superb and Roy bossed the game and made vital interceptions at the right time and the tactical nuances he brought were critical for a match of this nature.”
Kerr also praised the role of the Irish supporters in an attendance of almost 79,000 and finally showed his annoyance at a suggestion that Ireland had produced a typical “fighting performance”.
“Let’s move on from that,” he said. “I think we have. We have played here with fighting spirit but with skill, neatness and tidiness.
“It was a little bit like a World Cup or European Championship finals game when you get a lot of neutral people and a lot of very passionate people from both sides.”
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