Portuguese won’t like Cross fire, says Givens
That’s the view of Irish manager Don Givens, who starts both Stephen O’Halloran and Billy Clarke, giving them an opportunity to impress in front of their hometown crowd.
He is banking on the noisy support to upset the Portuguese rhythm. “You just hope we get the atmosphere right. Portugal are a great side; they have always been very strong at underage level but one or two of them might feel the atmosphere at Turner’s Cross. One or two of them might go under,” said Givens.
Celtic defender Darren O’Dea will captain the Irish side.
Billy Clarke will be joined up front by Adam Rooney and James O’Brien, while the midfield trio of Stephen Gleeson — a scorer of two goals in Ireland’s last match against Germany — Patrick Cregg and Stephen Quinn will play behind them.
O’Halloran and O’Dea will play in defence, alongside Richard Keogh and Eddie Nolan, while Darren Randolph has been named as the starting goalkeeper.
Givens reckons concentration will be key to Ireland’s chances of beating the Portuguese.
“Portugal are a very good team and we will need to maintain high levels of concentration and discipline if we are to beat them,” he said. “We have recently recorded good results against Holland and Germany, two other top sides, so there is no reason why we can’t do it again against Portugal.
“We are hoping for a large crowd at Turner’s Cross because a big, vocal crowd would really help the lads. The people of Cork have always been very good at supporting football at all age levels, so we hope they will turn out in force again.”
This is Ireland’s opening match in the qualifiers for the 2009 tournament in a very tough group which also features a glamour clash with England next month, followed by battles with Bulgaria and Montenegro.
Even if they managed to get through Group Three unscathed, the Irish would then face a play-off for a place in the final eight.
“If we were to finish in the top two in this group it would be a tremendous achievement but we can’t afford to drop our standards in any aspect of our play if we’re to get a result,” said Givens.
Givens is very wary of the Portuguese threat, even though they have lost Nani to the senior squad.
“Well, I would imagine there’s one or two other Nanis amongst them,” he said.
“We’ve watched tapes of Portugal’s last game against the Maltese and it was all one-way traffic but we know them well having played against them (losing 1-0) in the Madeira Tournament in March.
“At this level it is about our own performances. We need to make sure we are at our best in terms of technique, tactics, discipline and concentration.”
Ireland are 11/4 underdogs while Portugal are 5/6. A draw is priced at 23/10.
A number of tickets for tonight’s match are available through Ticketmaster outlets. Supporters will also be able to purchase tickets outside the stadium prior to the match. Tickets cost 25 for adults and 10 for children.
IRELAND: D Randolph (Charlton Athletic); E Nolan (Blackburn Rovers); R Keogh (Bristol City); D O’Dea (Celtic) — captain; S O’Halloran (Aston Villa); P Cregg (Falkirk); S Gleeson (Wolves); S Quinn (Sheffield United); J O’Brien (Celtic); A Rooney (Stoke City); B Clarke (Ipswich Town).
PORTUGAL (from): R Batista, R Patricio, G Brandão, M Da Costa, N Coelho, V Fernandes, Antunes, B Pereirinha, João Coimbra, M Fernandes, M Veloso, P Machado, V Gomes, Pele, Vieirinha, Cícero, F Coentrão, H Barbosa, J Moreira, Yannick.
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