Trapattoni defends decision not to blood Everton ace Coleman

ANOTHER evening peppered with bad vibes at the Aviva.

Last night produced another defeat for an Irish team at the venue and yet again the ‘action’ was played out against a backdrop of thousands of empty seats. Remember how we thought the place wouldn’t cope with the demand for tickets?

All that seems a long time ago now after the birthing pains experienced by Giovanni Trapattoni and Declan Kidney’s sides in their swanky new Ballsbridge home but the minor chorus of boos which accompanied the final whistle were harsh. What did people expect from a November friendly?

Norway earned their victory with two tasty goals but the result was unjust on an Irish side that held possession for long periods and had the better chances against a side ranked over 20 places above them by FIFA.

“I was a little bit afraid about the last minutes,” said Trapattoni. “My feeling was we had three or four players on the pitch who weren’t playing with their clubs. Our condition in the last few minutes didn’t have rhythm. I was disappointed with the result.”

The biggest grumble should have centred, not on the result or Ireland’s performance, but on Trapattoni’s failure to hand a senior international debut to Everton’s Seamus Coleman despite having stated his intention to play him two days ago.

Yet, Trapattoni defended his absence from proceedings last night.

“It was important to have on the pitch a team with balance, with some players who have experience and not only players who are 21. It is not easy to get players playing as you want after only two days. It is no good if we lose two or three-nil. I said I would look at players but at this moment the team was playing well. Norway had no shot for almost 45 minutes in the second-half.”

It was nonetheless a useful testing ground for the Italian who, with eight players having pulled out of the squad, fielded an unfamiliar starting 11 and made ample use of his bench as the evening unfolded.

Greg Cunningham and Darren O’Dea brought their collection of caps to three apiece, Stephen Kelly got a rare start, Keith Fahey trialled in the engine room and Shane Long built on his recent growth spurt with club and country. Add in Stephen Hunt’s first international appearance since the Thierry Henry controversy a year ago and Jonathan Walters’ arrival on the senior international scene and there were more than enough morsels to nibble over.

“I saw the personality of players like Cunningham, Walters and Fahey in the positions and they played very well. I had a little doubt about (Fahey) in this position but he played very well and with great personality. Walters the same and Long.”

Norway manager Egil Olsen admitted that his side had been “a bit lucky” to claim the win.

“A draw would have been okay,’’ he said. “After a poor first 15 minutes we came into the match quite well but in the second-half it was not very good. We had great problems defensively and we were a bit lucky to win the match even if the counter-attack for the winning goal was perfect.’’