The two that got away

Republic of Ireland 2 Israel 2

Ireland surrendered an early two-goal advantage along with almost total domination of the play, to allow Israel smash and grab the unlikeliest of away points in a World Cup qualifying group in which everything but the expected seems to happen.

For the third time in the campaign, Brian Kerr's team seized the initiative and failed to capitalise. But Saturday night was different, at times freakishly so. Unlike in the previous draws in Basel and Tel Aviv, here the Irish had home advantage, an even more solid platform inside 11 minutes, and a growing sense, for a long period in the first half, that not just three points but perhaps victory of a crushingly superior kind was on the cards.

That it didn't pan out that way can be attributed to many things, including injury, awful refereeing, a goalkeeper who was part hero and part villain, and an Israeli goal-mouth that gave new meaning to the phrase "charmed life."

But the game's turning point, the critical moment that had repercussions right to the end, came when Robbie Keane was forced ashore with a shoulder injury coming up to the half-hour mark.

By then, it seemed as if the Spurs' striker had done enough to cement an unassailable lead for Ireland.

Ian Harte had justified his recall within five minutes, posting a free-kick into the top corner to give the home side the best possible start. Ireland's second, in the 11th minute, had the crowd purring in appreciation of the telepathy between Keane and Andy Reid, with the striker supplying the cushioned finish to his club mate's perfectly-flighted through ball.

That Keane eschewed his usual cartwheel celebration was a sign that the shoulder knock he'd picked up earlier in a battle in the box with Benado that could have seen Ireland awarded a penalty had not responded to treatment. A quarter of an hour later, he was obliged to call it a day.

On the face of it, Brian Kerr's decision to bring Graham Kavanagh into the midfield and send Damien Duff up front alongside Clinton Morrison didn't appear unreasonable. The team was in cruise control, the Israelis seemed on the point of disintegration.

And even for those of us who prefer Duff out on the wing, his goal-scoring ability means that Kerr's long-held regard for him as a striker cannot be lightly dismissed.

But what became almost immediately evident was that the change had a disruptive effect in midfield. Instead of the one-for-one option of replacing Keane with Stephen Elliott or Gary Doherty, the preferred substitution effectively meant three changes in the way Ireland lined up Kavanagh coming into midfield, Kevin Kilbane going wide and Duff abandoning the flanks to push up-front.

Almost immediately, Ireland's quick tempo diminished. Irish play became more incoherent and the Israelis had time to regroup. Duff too was a less effective threat, although ironically he had not been having one of those games where his runs take out two or three players and create havoc as he gets to the end-line or penetrates the box.

However, it wasn't as if the home side suddenly looked vulnerable at the back. The problem was simply that attack had ceased to be the best means of defence, and Israel were able to gather their wits and get a foothold.

Nevertheless, their first goal still came pretty much out of the blue. Shay Given had been a virtual spectator until he found himself retrieving debut cap Ave Yehiel's looping header from the net.

But, like the Keane substitution, it was a pivotal moment. With just one goal to make up, Israel were firmly back in the game and the home side struck by the jitters. Yet, from an Irish point of view, there was still a touch of bad luck about the equaliser. O'Shea may have been bear-hugging Beanyoun but this sort of stuff tends to go unpunished nine times out of ten. Nimni beat Given to put the game back to square one.

A soft penalty, for sure, but as far as O'Shea was concerned, in keeping with an all round display he might prefer to forget. At the Millennium Stadium last month, I saw O'Shea at his elegant, confident best for Man Utd, feeding a succession of splendid passes up the line for Ronaldo.

At Lansdowne Road on Saturday he was scarcely recognisable as the same player, his languid style morphing into sloppy distribution and too much loitering on the ball. With Ian Harte back to stake a claim and Steve Carr returning from suspension, O'Shea could be in for a fight to retain his place against the Faroes. Still, the Waterford man could hardly be blamed for failing to get the win for Ireland, when his point-blank header was miraculously kept out by Dudu Aoute in a manner reminiscent of Dudek's heroics against Shevchenko in Istanbul.

Gary Doherty, on for Andy Reid in a clear signal of Ireland's direct intent a move which also restored Damien Duff to the flanks was another who came close in a succession of second-half near-misses that had Irish heads in hands.

Duff somehow managed to head one cross-shot off the line and had another close-range effort smothered by the 'keeper, while Clinton Morrison was a whisker away from connecting with the winger's ball across the face of the box as time even with an extra seven minutes for Aoute's masterclass in time-wasting finally ran out on Ireland.

With the ball fizzing around the Israeli six-yard box as Ireland "battered" the opposition, there was never a greater need for a striker of Keane's predatory instincts to apply the killer touch. But it wasn't to be. And Irish anguish was deepened when Andy O'Brien paid the price for Dudu Aoute's soap-opera theatrics.

So now, emotionally battered themselves and physically bruised too, the Irish head up into the North Atlantic, with the route to Germany looking more hazardous than ever.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given, O' Shea, O'Brien, Cunningham, Harte, Reid (Doherty 64), Holland, Kilbane, Duff, Keane (Kavanagh 27)

ISRAEL: Aouate, Yehiel, Benado, Gershon, Saban, Keisi, Suan, Tal, Nimni (Golan 78), Katan (Balili) Benayoun.