Goal-hungry Doyle relieved to break his duck

THE Republic of Ireland’s final home game at the old Lansdowne Road may ultimately be remembered for the first hat-trick of captain Robbie Keane’s international career, but of no less significance on the night was a debut international goal for his strike partner Kevin Doyle.

A firm header which flew into the San Marino goal off the underside of the crossbar, it meant the Reading man had finally broken his duck in his fifth game for his country.

“It was a relief more than joy just to score,” he says, “Because it can play on your mind that you haven’t got that goal yet. I just wanted to get it out of the way. I felt under pressure to score because it was San Marino we were playing against. People don’t expect you just to score, they are thinking in terms of how many.