Noble goals put Ireland to the sword

Republic of Ireland 0 England 3

Stuart Pearce’s accomplished side, stronger, taller and brimming with Premiership talent, did all the damage in the first half and, despite some spirited resistance, Ireland had no real answer in the face of manifestly superior opposition.

The game was effectively over as a meaningful contest inside the first 30 minutes. Ironically, Ireland had begun brightly enough, with positive work by Owen Garvan and Stephen Quinn in the middle of the park and strong running up-front from Billy Clarke and Anthony Stokes.

But ominously for the home side, West Ham’s Mark Noble had squandered an early chance, shooting tamely at Darren Randolph before, with just 10 minutes gone, the Charlton ‘keeper, under pressure from Blackburn’s Matt Derbyshire, failed to deal with a routine cross, leaving Noble the simple task of finishing with an almost casual lob.

In front of a big attendance — which included Sunderland boss Roy Keane, Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, his former Ireland colleague Packie Bonner, Preston manager Phil Simpson, West Ham legend and FA rep Trevor Brooking and Cork City boss Damien Richardson – the Irish found themselves two down just six minutes later when, after Gabriel Agbonlahor had outwitted Huddersfield Town’s Richard Keogh on the left, Noble was again in the right place at the right time to flash the Villa man’s low cross to the back of the net.

Ireland were having enormous difficulty in coping with the pace and power of Arsenal’s Theo Walcott and Agbonlahor, and the latter was involved again in England’s third goal on 25 minutes, laying the ball off for James Milner who turned brilliantly to make space before firing in a shot which deflected off Darren O’ Dea and into the net.

To their credit, the Irish continued to press to the end of the half, with Stokes just failing to get on the end of a fine, angled drive by Billy Clarke, while Adam Rooney’s smart turn and shot forced England ‘keeper Joe Hart to save at the expense of the corner. But, with three goals already conceded and a mountain to climb in the second half, it was Irish boss Don Givens who had all the hard talking to do at the break.

Fifteen minutes of the second period had elapsed before England came close to adding to their tally, Mark Noble denied his hat-trick by a fine save from Randolph.

At the other end, in one of Ireland’s best moves of the game, Stokes and Quinn exchanged clever passes before Rooney’s attempt on goal was blocked by Martin Cranie, the Portsmouth player currently on loan to QPR.

Coming up to the 70th minute, the linesman’s flag spared Garvan’s embarrassment after he somehow managed to scoop the ball over the bar from a yard out and, soon after, Manchester City’s Hart had to save brilliantly to keep out Quinn’s goal-bound shot.

That the Irish were now seeing much more of the ball was undeniable but then England could well afford to sit on the comfortable cushion of their three goal advantage. Yet, it still took a great last-ditch tackle from Stephen O’ Halloran to turn another Noble effort over the bar after the West Ham player had slalomed through the heart of the Irish defence.

That Noble, England’s main man, could have qualified to play for Ireland - with Cork grandparents no less - hardly helped to ease the pain of a comprehensive defeat by the ‘auld enemy’. And while England sit pretty at the top of the table, next up for Ireland is a trip to Montenegro as they attempt to get their first points on the board after back-to-back competitive defeats.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Randolph, Nolan, Keogh, O’ Dea, O’ Halloran, Quinn, Garvan, O’ Brien, Stokes, Rooney (Powell 66), Clarke (Gleeson 88).

ENGLAND: Hart, Cranie, S Taylor, Onuoha (Wheater 77), A Taylor, Huddlestone, Noble, Milner, Derbyshire (Moore 66), Walcott, Agbonlahor (Johnston 75)

Referee: Andrea de Marco (Italy).