Keane gets green light for crack at historic 50 goals

ROBBIE KEANE came through a complete training session at the Filipa II stadium in Skopje last night and, barring any unlikely complications or reaction to his groin strain between now and kick-off this evening, the striker will take to the pitch for Ireland against Macedonia on the brink of scoring 50 goals for his country.

Currently on 49, one or more goals this evening would see the Irish skipper overtake Bobby Charlton’s all-time British and Irish record, a remarkable achievement.

Keane, who got his first for his country against Malta as far back as 1998, scored numbers 47 and 48 against Northern Ireland and number 49 against Scotland in last week’s Carling Cup games at the Aviva Stadium.

The Dubliner was visibly not best pleased at being hauled off in both games by a manager keen to protect him for Skopje but, as Giovanni Trapattoni put it in trademark fashion at the time: “I hopes to Gods he hits the fifty in Macedonia.”

So does Keane, obviously, but not, he insists, to the extent that he will allow the prize to distract him from the main business of the night.

“It would mean a helluva lot,” he says, “but I’m not going into the game focusing on me getting the 50th goal. I’m going out to, hopefully, score a goal for the team and if that means winning the game and getting 50 goals, well, great. But if I don’t score and Coxy or Shane Long or whoever scores and we win the game – for me that’s the most important thing.”

And, by way of emphasising the point, the man who once patented his own goal celebration says that, no, he has planned no routine to mark the fantastic milestone of his 50th international goal.

Whenever it comes.