Cool Folan ready to walk tall in Sofia

NOBODY involved in Irish football, and least of all Giovanni Trapattoni, will underestimate the loss of Kevin Doyle for tonight’s World Cup qualifier in Bulgaria.

But if there is a silver lining for the manager it’s that, in Bari in April, the man who will replace the Reading striker — Hull City’s Caleb Folan — showed that he wasn’t in the least bit phased by being unexpectedly pitched in against the reigning world champions on their own turf.

An unlikely hero, Folan came on just 22 minutes into the first half, after Trapattoni had boldly withdrawn Andy Keogh and reorganised his troops in response to Ireland going a goal down and Italy being reduced to 10 men. And Folan, a gangly 26-year-old, did well for a man who, up until that moment, had only two caps, one from the friendly against Poland and the other for the merest of competitive cameo appearances as Trapattoni sought to run down the clock against Cyprus.