Trap call for cool heads

THE conventional route to international football success has always been to win your home games and avoid losing away.

But, when it comes to aggregate affairs, the significance of the away goal changes everything. Until Armenia scored in Dublin, Ireland’s record run of clean sheets might have been something to boast about but ahead of tonight’s European Championship play-off first leg in Tallinn, you can be sure the visitors would happily sacrifice one more if the choice was between a scoreless draw and a score draw.

Of course, no-one in the Irish camp is talking about anything other than a desire to win but, pragmatically, Giovanni Trapattoni knows returning to Dublin with at least a goal in the bag would be hugely advantageous.