Trap will have the last word

ON Tuesday evening in the Aviva, a couple of us were toying with the idea of writing up our match reports before the game kicked-off, just to see if second-guessing Trapattoni’s Ireland is as easy as many folk think.

You know, something along the lines of: “Ireland began brightly...achieved early breakthrough, going one-up after a deflected shot found the back of the net...but home side failed to build on supremacy...instead retreated into shell...repeatedly yielded possession to opposition...opposition proceeded to run rings around us...green shirts incapable of holding onto ball...only desperate last-ditch defending and poor Armenian finishing kept Ireland’s lead intact...resistance crumbled 20 minutes from the end when Armenia deservedly equalised...backs to the wall for remainder of game...penalty appeals waved down...anxiety in the stands...two vital saves by Given...nerve-jangling finish...agony prolonged through four minutes of time added-on...referee’s final whistle greeted by wave of relief all around the ground...afterwards Trapattoni praised his side’s “attitude” and “mentality”...out in RTE, Eamon Dunphy stabbed himself in the eye with biro...”

Well, if it wasn’t quite like that, it was mainly down to events, dear boy, specifically a refereeing howler and horrible mistakes by a visiting goalkeeper and defender. Yet, even when they were down to ten men, there were still periods when Armenia were the top dogs, though afterwards Trapattoni was within his rights to point out that Shay Given was rarely troubled on the night. And there were also passages of play when Ireland actually passed the ball quite well, with Keith Andrews getting a rare opportunity to be creative rather than disruptive – though, admittedly, this was mainly during the period when the home side held the numerical advantage.