Trapattoni dwells on positives but defensive lapses remain
“Normally after we lose I am not happy,” said Giovanni Trapattoni, “but this evening I am not as sad because it was a friendly game and I saw confirmation of what I was looking for with some players that we wanted to see.
“We started the game well but they made better use of their situations. This (Poland) team has played together a long time. They are strong and fast but this was still a positive situation for me.
“We created good chances, with Duff especially, but we kept our belief for 90 minutes and, for me, that is positive. I told the players in the dressing room, okay we lost, but it is better to lose the friendly and win the qualifiers.”
It would be over-simplifying matters to paint Giovanni Trapattoni as a committed disciple of ‘catenaccio’ but the Italian has nonetheless been zealous in his attempts to eradicate the concession of soft goals from Irish habits.
When he looks back over this DVD, he will surely have less reason to be happy than he claimed last night.
Two of Poland’s goals came courtesy of superb finishes but the genesis of both was a stray touch off an Irish leg or head. In short, it wasn’t exactly committed, no-nonsense defending.
That the third came from a simple set piece will disappoint the gaffer even more. The players can expect many more hours on the Malahide training pitch repeating defensive drills when they meet again next February.
It was ironic that a game dominated in the build-up by the absence of a creative midfielder — you know who — should be overshadowed by defensive problems but Ireland’s central midfield remains a talking point.
Polish coach Leo Beenhakker made an unprompted remark afterwards about how successfully the visitors had neutered the Irish midfield. The Dutchman said it in passing but it will be a central theme for the foreseeable future on these shores.
Trapattoni’s struggles with English again confused the issue, but he name-checked Gibson on half-a-dozen occasions and seemed satisfied with the Manchester United man’s input yet again. Glenn Whelan’s too.
“In the last few games, I looked for the new players because maybe in the future in the English League, if there are injuries, we need others. Now we have different options in the squad.”
Gibson’s lack of game time at Old Trafford has been held up as a cause for concern by those championing the likes of Andy Reid and Lee Carsley but six of Ireland’s starters last night are in the same boat.
Where some spot a lack of experience, Trap merely sees an abundance of youth, however, and he believes the younger members of the panel can learn much between now and the next raft of competitive fixtures.
“They are young. Today they were running for 94 minutes but maybe they did not think all the time. We have time now before the very important games. I don’t want to find excuses because I knew before I came here what Ireland’s team was like.”
For Trapattoni’s counterpart, it was almost the perfect evening and ideal preparation for their next World Cup qualifier, which will be against Northern Ireland in Belfast early next year.
“The first reason we were here was to prepare for the qualification campaign,” said Beenhakker. “We had a very good evening. It was good to get a Polish team used to this part of Europe. “I have to say we were good for 85 minutes. We didn’t have too many problems in defence. I am satisfied with the win because it is not easy to win here. I am not so happy with the score. We still had to suffer at the end.”
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