Kilbane ponders the ironies of football

KEVIN KILBANE yesterday pondered the conundrum that meant he was playing the best football of his career while the two teams he loved most were struggling for results.

His only pitch at offering an explanation was to emphasise once again football's infuriating tendency to defy logic and prediction.

Kilbane played sparkling football and scored a cracking goal when Ireland beat Scotland in a friendly at Hampden Park in February but Ireland are struggling for European Championship points.