Lawrence and Doyle display eastern promise

EARLIER this week Liam Lawrence moved down a division to make the move to Portsmouth but he shot up in the estimation of Irish fans everywhere yesterday with an international-class display in Yerevan.

Lawrence is typical of most of the newcomers blooded under Giovanni Trapattoni: a player who has long seen the back of his teenage years and one who has spent more time in England’s lower reaches than the Premier League.

He is a grafter, too, for that is requirement number one.