Russia to field speedy wild card

RUSSIA will introduce to international football a player said to be quicker than Michael Owen when they play Ireland today in the opening match of the European Under-21 Championship in Moscow.

He is Alex Doniskevsky, 17, a striker with Spartak Moscow, whose name was not on the squad of players given to Ireland by Russia. Perhaps they were planning to surprise the visitors.

"He will become a huge international star," said Areg Oganessian, Moscow's leading football writer, "his development has been carefully monitored and now Russia expects him to announce his arrival in spectacular fashion against Ireland."

Ireland's Under-21 manager Don Givens spoke optimistically of Ireland's Championship prospects but said: "All of our teams below the senior international team are development teams, and our first priority is to produce players for Mick McCarthy.

"But you saw how capable are the players at this level when three of our players were given an introduction to the senior team recently against Finland. That was a huge incentive to all our underage players, it showed they will be given their chance when the time is right," Givens said.

Those players, Graham Barrett of Arsenal, Tommy Butler (Sunderland) and Jim Goodwin (Stockport), will be in the Irish team to play Russia today in an Under-21 championship to run parallel with the senior competition.

Givens added: "The results of this competition will also influence the qualification tournament for the Olympic Games, so there is everything to play for. But you can be sure that Russia will be our most difficult opponents, they beat Sweden 3-1 in a friendly last time out, and Seamus McDonagh brought back glowing reports of them from that match."

Ireland will not be able to call upon John O'Shea (Manchester United) because the outstanding young defender is amongst the substitutes for the senior match and Givens was philosophical "We've had this before with Robbie Keane and Damien Duff who virtually bypassed the Under21 level."

IRELAND (U21s): Murphy (West Brom); Thompson (Nottingham Forest), Goodwin (Stockport), Byrne (Sunderland), Tierney (Manchester Utd); Butler (Sunderland), Miller (Celtic), Keane (Preston), Houlihan (Shelbourne); Burgess (Stockport), Barrett (Brighton, loan).