Trapattoni impressed with performances of debut boys

AS the rows of empty seats made all too clear, this wasn’t the kind of game to get Joe Public excited but Giovanni Trapattoni will arrive back in Milan today a happy man after an evening that ticked all the relevant boxes.

The 3-0 win matched what had previously been the side’s most convincing win under his watch — against Algeria at the RDS last May — and with it came the added bonus of encouraging debut performances.

“I am happy with the situation,” said the Italian. “First, it was a good result and, second, it was important to see these two or three young players. Their performances I am happy with because they played well and with good spirit and they did what I wanted them to do.”

Rarely has a youngster turned up for his first Irish cap with as much expected of him as Seamus Coleman but the Everton player coped admirably from the first minute when his first touch was an assured pass to a colleague.

Ciaran Clarke will have slept just as contentedly after his big bow but it could have been even better had his first-half header from a Coleman pass landed a foot to the left of the post rather than right.

Whether either features against Macedonia in Ireland’s next qualifier in late March is another matter entirely.

Trapattoni likes the tried and trusted when it matters most and indicated as much last night.

“It was important to see them in this competition but we have to think about qualification and we don’t forget about Duff, McGeady, Lawrence and different players in this position. I follow (Coleman) many times for his club. Also Clarke, he showed a lot of personality. I was impressed with what I saw of him in this game.”

For the record, the Irish manager also confirmed, in his most coherent English yet, that James McCarthy remains in his long-term plans despite the confusion surrounding his absence from Dublin this week.

“All Irish players are in our future. I don’t forget (Lee) Carsley or any player. We discovered (Keith) Fahey, (Andy) Keogh and also McCarthy, sure, can also be in the future. We already saw him for 50 minutes against Brazil and we like him.”

There were further words of encouragement for Jonathan Walters who pitched in with a workmanlike shift up front and for Damien Duff who scored his first goal for his country in five long years.

“I saw (Duff) in his last performance for his club and he was fantastic. We can win with these players. Now I hope to see him play well in the qualification matches.”

For Gary Speed, it was a sobering experience in what was his first game in charge of the Welsh national side and he badly needs the likes of Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy back in tow when they face England in the Euro qualifiers next month.

“Disappointed with the result,” was his verdict. “No-one wants to lose like that in their first game but there were positives we can take and in that respect it was a decent exercise for us.’’