Dawn after the darkness

MAYBE Bob Dylan knows more about football than the rest of us. After all, he was the man who said the darkest hour comes right before the dawn.

In the normal course of events, a 1-1 home draw in a European Championship qualifier would not be a cause for delight and relief, but for Irish football the normal course of events had received such a seismic jolt in Cyprus last Saturday that there was a clear and present danger that it might not recover for a very long time. And certainly not in the space of four days.

But pride was restored in Lansdowne Road last night after a performance of heart, soul, composure and no little skill, earned the embattled Irish their first point of the European campaign — and probably saved Steve Staunton’s international management career.

By way of a major bonus, the game also produced one of the most outstanding Irish debuts since Liam Brady appeared alongside John Giles in the midfield of a team which thrilled a jammed Dalymount Park to a 3-0 demolition of the Soviet Union way back in 1974.

Last night, Paul McShane, parachuted in at centre-half because of Ireland’s injury crisis, was up against Jan Koller and Milan Baros, one of the most free-scoring pairings in European football.

If some feared that it could be a traumatic introduction to top-flight football for the 20-year-old, the brave and unflappable Wicklow boy clearly wasn’t one of them.

And although the former U21 captain was unable to prevent Koller from popping Ireland’s party balloon with an equaliser just after Kevin Kilbane had got their noses in front, he was fully deserving of his Man of the Match award and the huge ovation he got as he left the pitch in danger of being strangled by one of physio Mick Byrne’s most passionate hugs.

Steve Staunton had set out his team in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with the flanks manned by Kevin Kilbane on the left and Damien Duff on the right, and Charlton’s Andy Reid, only recently returned from injury, charged with playing behind Robbie Keane in front of a central midfield partnership of Lee Carsley and Jonathan Douglas.

On paper, it had an attacking look about it but it could also easily revert to five across the middle if damage limitation was to be the name of the game. It rarely was.

It was vital for the Irish last night to get off to a spirited, positive start, if they were to have any hope of winning back the belief of supporters still reeling from the debacle in Cyprus.

But this Lansdowne crowd were with the team right from the off and, in a hugely encouraging first half, the players didn’t disappoint. Every tackle was cheered, every header celebrated like a small victory, as the old battling underdog spirit was rewarded with a deafening chorus of ‘Stand up for the boys in green’.

And, to their credit, the boys themselves did just that, none more so than McShane, who was superb on the ground and in the air on his senior debut. One crucial interception, when he raced across to take the ball off the toe of Koller, was almost worth a goal in itself. Far from enduring a baptism of fire, McShane looked like he had been playing at this level forever. And, after just 90 minutes, he has surely earned himself a permanent place in the senior side.

In the first 45, Jonathan Douglas had the clearest chance to open the scoring when Petr Cech was forced to save with his feet while, at the other end, Wayne Henderson foiled Milan Baros when the Aston Villa striker looked certain to finish from point-blank range.

At left back, Stephen Kelly’s pace was an important component in Ireland’s composed defending, while, at centre-half, John O’ Shea had his most impressive outing in a green shirt in a very long time.

Then there was the comeback kid — well, alright, oul fella — Lee Carsley, harshly booked for a committed ball-winning tackle that Keano himself would have been proud of, and generally doing everything required to steady the ship and make sure there was never a danger of a repeat of the collapse in Nicosia or the blood-letting which occurred when the Dutch handed out a drubbing on Ireland’s last outing at Lansdowne Road.

Sure, the Czechs at times played the neater, crisper first-touch football and, this morning, they will be more than happy to have taken a point. But the meaning of this game was about more than a point for the Irish — it was about Staunton and his patched-up team proving a point.

And near the very end, it could and should have been all three, when Cech uncharacteristically found himself flapping at Damien Duff’s cross.

Alas Robbie Keane failed to capitalise at the far post.

The key moments came on the hour mark. First on 62 minutes, when Duff chose the outside line and pulled a low cross back across the face of the goal which the in-rushing Kevin Kilbane thumped to the back of the net.

The roar was probably the greatest heard in the old ground since Jason McAteer scored an uncannily similar goal against Holland in 2001. In the wild celebrations down on the pitch, around the dug-out and up in the stands, Kilbane found himself getting a poke in they eye from one of his team mates which gave him blurred vision.

That pain was as nothing to the kick in the teeth two minutes later when Jan Koller, as nimble on his feet as he is imposing in the air, drilled the equaliser to the corner of the net.

For all the good things about last night’s transformed performance, here was something which hadn’t changed since Nicosia, and which also bedevilled Brian Kerr’s time in charge — an alarming inability to protect a lead.

Happily, unlike in the second half last Saturday, the Irish were defiant this time. Far from heads dropping, they continued to take the game to the Czechs, even as Staunton was forced to blood more young ‘uns to replenish tired legs.

If there was any disappointment last night, it’s that Ireland failed to take the three points their performance probably deserved. But, given the mood of dread going into the game, disappointment is an acceptable alternative to dismay.

With back-to-back games coming up against San Marino, Staunton goes forward into what should be a period of relative calm. There are still questions for the immediate future, including how he now handles the twin demands of youth and experience — in the form of McShane and Carsley — for permanent places in his Irish team.

After all, it was only because his hand was forced that the manager played the two but, after the troubles of the past week, none can deny that he is entitled to a lucky break. Just as he is entitled to the time required to build on this huge morale-booster and show he has what it takes to make it as an international manager.