Harte jumps at chance to prove himself at full-back
Ian Harte jumped at his chance to prove himself at full-back and his left foot changed the game with two assists.
Well, that’s according to Kevin Kilbane, who linked well with Harte in the second half.
“Ian came on, played a couple of great balls and we got two goals from them; we all know the damage he can cause with his left foot,” said the winger, who was his typical toiling self when introduced in the second half.
Harte wasn’t too forthcoming about his own display, but John O’Shea, who broke his international duck flicking on Ian Harte’s free-kick, was more than willing to talk. He doesn’t get that many goals.
“It was a very special moment. It got us back in the game where it looked like Australia were on top and was extra special that it was in Lansdowne. Before the goal went in, we weren’t creating anything but that’s what Hartey can do.”
The defender laughed at the mention of his special goal-scoring record before last night’s friendly. “I won’t be competing with Robbie Keane or Ruud Van Nistlerooy for any golden boots awards, that’s for sure, but I hope to add a few more during the season.”
O’Shea claimed the move had been rehearsed in early-morning practice: “That’s Brian all over, he puts a lot of detail on set pieces. It was Duff who crossed it in earlier, but it was a similar kind of goal.”
O’Shea hopes that his performance last night will see him edge back into the United team. Despite his wonderful season last year, he was left on the Manchester United bench for Saturday’s opener against Bolton. “I’ve just got to keep my head down and hope the gaffer likes what he sees.”
Clinton Morrison, scorer of the winning goal, arrives out with his customary smile and speaks of how much he enjoys his Lansdowne experience.
“It was great to get the winner, but I should have had a goal earlier on when it hit my shoulder and it just went wide, but it was great to score. I love playing in front of the home fans, they always give me a great reception.”
It was Morrison’s first competitive game in five and a half months and he felt himself wheezing at the end of his half an hour stint on the pitch.
“I’m not a hundred percent fit yet, I played reasonably well for my first competitive in so long, but we have a reserve team match against Middlesborough tonight and I will ask the manager to play me in that to get me back to full fitness.”
Morrison, who got into trouble with his club last week after being stopped by police, after innocently taking a ride in a car which was found to have drugs in it, was delighted to have scored his fifth goal in 11 starts for the Republic. “Last week was a bad week, today is a happy day,” said Morrison.
Man-of-the-match Nick Colgan paid tribute to his team-mates.
The Ireland goalkeeper admitted he had been nervous but that the strength of the team in front of him had reassured him and given him confidence. “I was a little bit nervous, as anyone would be on their first start for their country against a very strong Australian side,” he told Sky Sports.
“But the lads helped me along, who wouldn’t want to play behind these lads.” And Colgan revealed the players had received a rocket from boss Brian Kerr during the interval for a lacklustre first half.
“The manager made it quite clear he was not pleased with the performance and we dug deep in the second half.”
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