Winged wonders reach for the stars

A ppropriately enough fora game which took place onthe eve of the flight to Italy and onwards via Hungary to the Euros, this farewell friendly was all about Ireland’s winged wonders, as James McClean in the first half and Aiden McGeady in the second, reached for the sky.

On his competitive debut, the Sunderland sensation was the star of the first 45, running at and by opponents, whipping in crosses, winning his fair share of ball in the air and, as is mandatory for a Giovanni Trapattoni wide-man, dutifully tracking back and getting his tackles in too.

Indeed, the Derry man seemed set fair for the man of the match award until Aiden McGeady appeared at the start of the second half and, by way of an immediate statement of intent, saw a volley come back off the post with what was his very first touch of the ball. A constant threat with his pace and tricks, McGeady almost fashioned the breakthrough in the 73rd minute when his cross found Jon Walters who should have done better than heading against the crossbar. But the Spartak Moscow man was not to be denied and, just four minutes later, another pinpoint cross from the right was headed home by Shane Long, to give Ireland a deserved and morale-boosting win on the eve of departure.

If players were to be picked according to how well they played in their last game, then McClean and McGeady would be first-choice starters for Ireland. Saturday also suggested that Stephen Hunt is now definitely behind McClean in the pecking order, the Wolves man not even getting the opportunity to impress as an impact sub despite, at one point, being instructed to strip for action. Afterwards, the manager was seen to be giving him what looked like a ‘chin-up’ message, as players and staff walked the pitch.

For all that, we know that Trapattoni will stick with his most trusted charges for the Euros meaning that, barring injury, Damien Duff — although somewhat under-whelming against Bosnia-Herzegovina — will reclaim the shirt.

And despite the understandable excitement generated by McClean, it shouldn’t be forgotten that, even if Duff is no longer the livewire he was at World Cup 2002, he is still a player with big tournament experience whose mere presence on the ball tends to invite double-marking and open up space for his team-mates. And his practiced ability to win free-kicks as the get-out ball man when Ireland are under pressure should not be underestimated either.

And you can be sure that the pressure will be of an altogether different magnitude of intensity in Poland. Well as the Irish played on Saturday, their performance cannot be divorced from the reality of a Bosnian challenge which, after a deceptively bright 15-minute spell early in the first half, degenerated into something barely above the pedestrian. Rarely has a team come to Lansdowne Road.

That was one of the reasons why Darron Gibson was afforded so much time on the ball, a rare luxury for Irish central midfielders which they won’t experience again next month. The Everton man’s performance seemed to divide opinion, with Trapattoni himself declaring him to be one of the best players on the pitch. That’s not how I saw it. Yes, he hit a couple of fine long passes but he also failed to complete a good few more, as if being struck by sudden lapses in concentration. A lack of assertive consistency continues to undermine his better work.

Happily, there were no such qualms about the performances of old workhorses Richard Dunne and Robbie Keane, the former showing no ill-effects from his injury-ravaged season and the latter even surviving one of the very few heavy challenges put in by the opposition to make his usual lively and inventive contribution. And, during his time on the pitch, Kevin Doyle also put himself about like a man with a point to prove.

Even more heartening, when Keane and Doyle were withdrawn, there was no sense of deflation, no worry that Ireland would suddenly be rendered toothless. Instead, Jon Walters, almost Drogba-esque in his physical presence, caused fresh problems for the Bosnian defence while Long, of course, came up with the headed goods to ensure that, at the end, the crowd’s mood would match the feelgood summer weather as the Irish team and management were given a fond farewell.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Westwood; McShane (Kelly 78), Dunne (St Ledger 70), O’Dea, Ward; Duff (McGeady 46), Gibson, Whelan (Andrews 46), McClean; Keane (Long 63), Doyle (Walters 63).

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Begovic; Medunjanin (Vrancic 46), Pandza, Jahic, Mujdza (Zahirovic 56); Pjanic, Misimovic (Alispahic 82), Rahimic (Stevanovic 46), Lulic; Dzeko, Ibisevic (Vranjes 70).

Referee: N. Haenni (Switzerland).