Double-sided Robbie tops charts

Ireland 2 Faroe Islands 0

To Brian Kerr’s side, a comprehensive win to further fire the flames of ambition as Ireland climbed proudly to the top of Group Four of the World Cup qualifying tournament.

True, the performance was flawed, for Ireland were compromised by their inability to add to two first-half goals. But there were extenuating circumstances.

Robbie Keane quickly became the centre of focus after he nicked two goals to claim the record. It was as if his colleagues had decided he alone would be licensed to score.

It was an attitude that was counter-productive and eased the task of a Faroes defence agitated to distraction when Ireland processed a more rounded performance early in the game.

Yet these criticisms were inconsequential on a night when the difference in class was vast. The result was never in doubt, even if the Faroe Islands deserve credit for limiting Ireland’s return.

They worked with a will, operating a blanket defensive plan designed to fill the area surrounding their penalty area with bodies. And as the home side, and especially Robbie Keane, spurned a succession of scoring opportunities so Ireland had reason to be thankful for the breathtaking work of the genius Duff.

For Duff was a force of nature in football terms; explosive, spectacular, utterly uncontrollable, threatening the security of the Faroes’ defence as an erupting volcano devastates everything in its path.

Faroes’ defenders queued to confront him, stretching to restrain his influence. To no avail. Duff was majestic, brilliant and deadly and to watch him in full flight was to be transported to a level where miracles are possible, even expected.

Kerr released him early from the confines of a role on the flank, handing him a licence to raid through the middle, in tandem with Robbie Keane.

The devastation they wreaked on the Faroes’ defence in the first half was total, destructive in a physical and a psychological sense.

We lost count of the number of scoring opportunities rejected by Ireland as they punched holes in the Faroes’ defence. The space in front of their goal was often as chaotic as a crowded shopping mall and a busy 90 minutes was inflicted on goalkeeper Jakup Mikkelsen as Duff worked his magic.

When you factored in the work of the elusive Andy Reid on the left and the hard-working Steve Finnan on the right, Ireland’s attack was a coherent, compulsive and consistent force.

The wonder and the disappointment was that they did not harvest a more bountiful return.

The goals they claimed arrived after 13 minutes when Robbie Keane converted a penalty after Duff had been brought down and in the 32nd minute when Robbie took advantage of a slip by Olsen to turn in a pass from Roy Keane.

Ireland’s failure to add to their early success could be interpreted as a weakness. They had a monopoly on possession, were never challenged in defence and were camped for extensive periods in Faroes’ penalty area.

A charitable view was that they were too occupied trying to present Robbie Keane with his first international hat-trick. Indeed their attempts to spoon-feed a third goal to the busy striker had assumed the characteristics of an obsession by the second-half.

Unfortunately for Ireland, Robbie was unable to capitalise on a succession of chances and ultimately their failure to score in the second-half knocked some of the lustre off the performance. Their passing was not as crisp or as accurate as it had been in Paris, the tempo was not as rhythmical or as patient.

In the final analysis the match confirmed that there is much work still to be done if Ireland are to qualify for Germany. It could be that the task Ireland face in future contests will not be suffocating as Faroes contrived to make it in the second half. Few, if any, of Ireland’s future opponents will be content with maintaining such a force concentrated in defence as the Faroes did.

The security of Ireland’s defence in face of spasmodic Faroes’ attacks as the game aged was in keeping with their work in the tournament to date and their ability to maintain clean sheets might eventually prove to be a decisive factor.

They maintained an iron grip on the trend of the game with Roy Keane commanding the centre of midfield and provoking the proper response from those around him. It would have been nice to record a more generous scoreline in Ireland’s favour, one that was more in keeping with their dominance. But the three points was the most important incentive on offer and they claimed those with total assuredness.

IRELAND (4-4-2): Given; Carr, O’Brien, Cunningham, O’Shea (Miller 56); Finnan, Roy Keane, Kilbane, Duff; Robbie Keane, Reid (Doherty 75).

FAROE ISLANDS (4-4-1-1): Mikkelsen; Thorsteinsson, Johannessen, Roi Jacobsen, Olsen; Borg (Danielsen 85), Johnsson, Benjaminsen, Rogvi Jacobsen (Lakjuni 48); Petersen; Frederiksberg (Flotum 82).

Referee: Mr Romans Lajuks (Latvia).