Needle was part of Swiss tactics

THE attitude of the Swiss in Wednesday’s eventful World Cup tie in Basel removed all doubt that Clinton Morrison was exaggerating when he criticised them before the Group 4 qualifier.

Morrison was the subject of much attention from the Swiss and their followers because his claim that he had been racially abused on Ireland's visit last year was widely reported in the Swiss press, radio and TV.

Racial references represent such a dangerous minefield in today's society that it was certain there were those who suspected he might have been overly sensitive.

He did not help his claim when he chose not to reveal the words used to him. When he went on to suggest there was a lot that was objectionable happening off the ball it only served to heighten a suspicion that he had been whingeing.

Now we are more inclined to accept his opinion after the Swiss showed an unsporting side to their nature in the course of a physically-tough and rancorous contest. There was an underlying element of needle in the game that confirmed bad relations between the two groups.

We did not have long to wait to see it surface. The first couple of tackles on Damien Duff by the West Brom full-back Bernt Haas were blown up by the referee. It was intimidation, pure and simple.

To supply further examples of this approach would serve only to emphasise the obvious, but a gesture by the aggressive Hakan Yakin late in the game illustrated just how far Switzerland were prepared to go to try and upset the Irish.

An Irish player knocked the ball out of play to allow an injured Swiss opponent receive treatment.

Yakin sought to take a cheap advantage when he knocked the ball into the corner of the pitch while his colleague was receiving treatment, clearly in an attempt to force Ireland to resume the game deeper in their own territory than was justified.

Footballers are slow to express their views on such matters publicly. They are more inclined to settle any differences on the pitch perhaps in a return match and, Lord knows, Irish players have been known to over-step the mark themselves in such circumstances.

More than one Irish player spoke of the arrogance of Haas and Hakan Yakin in particular. The accumulation of evidence left one with the impression that there was an element of indiscipline in the Swiss ranks.

This suspicion was not, perhaps, unrelated in my mind to the fact that they had two players sent off in the finals of the European Championships Vogel in a drawn match with Croatia and Haas when they lost 0-3 to England.

When all is said and done, however, football is a physical contact game and the tactic of attempting to catch a skilful opponent in a heavy tackle is an acknowledged part of it.

It is a factor and has to be accepted and there was, perhaps, some significance in this regard in the fact that Roy Keane made up a lot of ground to challenge Haas late in the game.

Keane's lay-off clearly blunted his sharpness and Ireland will be hoping that he and others like Duff, Robbie Keane and Stephen Carr will have their game honed to a higher degree next time out.

The fact is Ireland were lucky to escape with a point from Basel. If they can avoid defeat in Paris on October 9 and beat Faroe Islands four days later, however, they can make big strides in the five months from then until their next game away to Israel.

Meantime the game showed to illustrate, once again, the gap between club football and the international game. Andy Reid is a marvellous player; skilful, intelligent, and quick in thought and action.

He found this game too quick for him, however, and he was not alone. Perhaps out-playing a poor Cypriot team four days previously had not been helpful to Ireland ... they had time against Cyprus to take two or three touches before controlling the ball.

How often were they caught in possession early in the game when Switzerland hunted possession in a pack and closed an Irish player down swiftly while he struggled to control the ball?

There are grounds for believing that Ireland were over-hyped by the manner in which they beat Cyprus. Against an experienced and battle-hardened team like Switzerland, they must be able to string four, five

and six one-touch passes together in tight situations if they hope to prosper.

It must not be forgotten this team is a work in progress under the guidance of a relatively new manager. And it is wrong to expect too much of players new to the international scene like Andy Reid.

When Liam Miller, Stephen Elliott and Aiden McGeady come along as they will in this tournament we will do well to remember this.