Keane stays defiant in face of France and history

MARK LAWRENSON’S was the name on a lot of lips late on Saturday night as the full ramifications of Ireland’s 1-0 defeat – and the extent of the task facing them in two days’ time – began to sink in.

It is 22 years since the former Liverpool defender caught Scotland napping with a quick free-kick at Hampden Park and sent a daisy-cutter beyond Jim Leighton and into the net after eight minutes.

To many, that goal and the victory it earned was the day when the Jack Charlton era truly began to gather momentum but it remains the last time that an Irish team defeated a ‘ranked’ side in their own back garden.