McCarthy makes case for Stan’s defence as B’s fail to buzz

“THERE’S only one San Marino,” the mini-Tartan Army gleefully mocked the locals in Dalymount Park last night. Certainly, there wasn’t too much to sing about in this scoreless ‘B’ international, and Irish fans will be hoping for a much livelier affair at Lansdowne Road tonight.

Nevertheless, these games are all about the learning curve, and Pat Devlin and Steve Staunton will take heart from the fact that this experimental Irish side dominated a game in which they had enough chances to win. They will also have been reassured by a handful of fine individual performances, not least from Leicester City’s commanding defender Paddy McCarthy, who made a strong claim for a return to the senior squad.

In the starting 11, the eircom League was represented by two Cork City players, Joe Gamble taking his place on the right side of midfield and Roy O’Donovan looking to transfer his current fine form at club level into a strike partnership with Scunthorpe’s Andy Keogh. And the Cork duo were central to the best move of the first-half when, after 15 minutes, Newcastle United’s Alan O’Brien showed his speed to race up the left flank. His pass inside was swiftly moved on by Keogh to O’Donovan whose clever first-time ball into the path of Gamble ended with his club mate firing over the top.