All hail goal king Keane

RECORD-BREAKING Robbie Keane was the toast of his team-mates and the Irish supporters in Skopje on Saturday.

But the man himself was happier to speak of the merits of three European Championship qualifying points rather than 51 international goals.

“A massive three points, just what we needed, especially with the other two teams (Russia and Slovakia) winning as well,” said Keane. “The most important thing is that we won.”

Which is true. Had Keane reached the half-century mark in an Irish defeat, it would have been a footnote rather than a headline in this morning’s reports. But, happily, the striker’s brace sealed the win for Ireland and he is now entitled to bask in the glow of a remarkable achievement which has seen him overtake Bobby Charlton as the leading all-time international goalscorer in Ireland or Britain and draw level with a certain Thierry Henry. Keane is only the 13th European player to score more than 50 goals and, worldwide, he is one of only three players still in action who have passed the half-century tally — the other two being Germany’s Miroslav Klose and Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o.

So how did Ireland’s record-breaking striker view his 50th?

“We spoke the day before the game about how the balls move all over the place, so I said to the lads, ‘if you get an opportunity to have a shot, shoot’. So that’s what I did and luckily enough for me, it went in.”

Ah, yes, the deflection — so should it be an own goal then?

“You’re joking. It would have gone in anyway!”

And the 51st? “I anticipated the defender making the mistake. I was gonna hit it first time because the goal keeper was way over to the left side but I said I’d take a touch here because, as I said, the balls were going all over the place. It was always important to get a second goal, just to calm the nerves a little bit. We did that. And, obviously, we were lucky with the penalty they missed. I think, psychologically, that killed them off.”

How was the night for him after his fitness scare? “I was knackered at the end. I got an injection before the game but in the last 10 to 15 minutes, it started to wear off. It’s a bit sore now but, who cares when you’re winning? You’re just desperate to do it for the team, so it doesn’t matter. Shay Given suffered as well.”

What was the talk at half-time? “We just said to keep it tight as a group. As a unit. We did that. Defensively, with the height they have, it was important that we were solid. And when you’re playing against a team that likes to pass it around, it was important that myself, and Hunty and Shane when he came on, got into that little hole and stopped them from playing. And we did it very well.

“For me, personally, it was obviously a great night. But I think it will go down as a great, great team performance. The way we defended was superb. Winning the headers, and blocks. Everyone helped each other and that’s the sign of a good team.

“We’ve always had a good team spirit. I said that it was important that we stuck together as a group and we’ve done that. It’s worked out to be a great couple of weeks for us.”

Even to the extent that all the controversy in the build-up might have even have been a factor in boosting motivation?

“Yeah, it was. I think it’s important for the lads who are here to show that they have a right to be here. The next squad, they should be in. They could easily have been on holidays the last couple of weeks but they chose to be here. But that’s a decision the manager has to make now. But full credit. The most important thing was we stuck together, the last few weeks. The team spirit, I have to say, was strong.”

Keane’s team mates were only too happy to salute the Dubliner’s achievement, led by his veteran colleague Shay Given.

“Phenomenal, a phenomenal record and he deserves all the headlines and all the credit because it’s fantastic,” said the goalkeeper. “And not just for his goals but also for his leadership the other night and the way he worked throughout the game. Everyone responded, you know, and put a real shift in and that comes from the captain. He deserves great credit.”

And Manchester United’s John O’Shea had plaudits for both striker and keeper after the game in Skopje.

“They’ve been amazing again. Robbie and Shay — they’re absolute heroes for Ireland.”