Job done as Ireland ready to get serious

As a reporter covering a rather more bellicose international contest once famously remarked: I counted them all out and I counted them all back in again.

Which is another way of saying that, though Ireland were under the cosh for the majority of this game, it was still a case of main mission accomplished for Giovanni Trapattoni in Budapest last night, as his first 11 emerged physically intact from their last big test before the Euros.

The two biggest concerns before last night’s game were John O’Shea and Shay Given.

Before being rested for the second half, Given had arguably been Ireland’s man of the match, his string of fine saves helping ensure that Hungarian dominance was not translated into goals. O’Shea, for his part, saw out the entire 90 minutes without any obvious recurrence of his ankle problem. Barring any delayed reaction, it now looks like both are firmly on course to take their place in the starting 11 against Croatia next Sunday, alongside the other nine who began last night’s game in the Ferenc Puskas stadium. However, all concerned will need to up their game considerably, if they are to give the Croatians — whose manager Slaven Bilic was in attendance last night — something to worry about.

Of course, this was still only a friendly, and the modest attendance in the venerable but increasingly age-worn arena as well as the generally relaxed atmosphere in the build-up to the game — at least until a thunderstorm arrived with a loud bang to liven up proceedings — spoke of a fixture bereft of real competitive tension. Indeed, had this promising new generation of Hungarian footballers managed to recreate the 7-1 thrashing handed out to our neighbours on this ground by the Mighty Magyars, it would hardly have mattered to the visitors just as long as O’Shea was still upright at the end.

After the lightning had faded from the scene, the game finally kicked off some 15 minutes late but safety remained a major concern for the Irish in what were now slippery conditions, while for those of us who were there, the mere sight of the stadium’s running track brought back painful memories of Richard Dunne sliding into trouble in Moscow.

But it was Glenn Whelan who caused the first flurry of concern, briefly staying down after a clash of heads. This came just after O’Shea had used his head to better effect at the other end, his effort from Damien Duff’s cross dropping onto the roof of Adam Bogdan’s net.

A robust Dunne tackle to snuff out a dangerous run from Peter Szakaly suggested the Tallaght man was intent on playing in his usual committed way, before Shay Given showed off his style, nimbly readjusting to get one hand to a deflected long-ranger by Balazs Dzsudzsak, one of three good saves the number seven drew from the Irish keeper in the opening half hour. And the Donegal man was again called into action in the 35th minute when Sean St Ledger slipped, allowing striker Adam Szalai a shot on goal which failed to carry the requisite power to beat the alert Given.

Almost on the stroke of half-time, Ireland had their biggest scare to date, when Szalai was denied by a last-ditch Stephen Ward tackle, just as the Hungarian number nine was about to strike. However, as Ward stayed on the ground, it looked like he might have seriously injured himself but, fortunately he was able to play on.

Shay Given did not reappear for the second half, with Keiren Westwood taking his place but the change was only because, after his busy 45 minutes, Trapattoni decided to give the keeper a rest. Up front, meanwhile, the manager turned to Jon Walters as a replacement for Kevin Doyle.

But, right from the resumption, Hungary reasserted their dominance, Westwood having to take up where Given left off, as the Irish goal led a charmed life.

More substitutions followed, Simon Cox replacing Robbie Keane and Stephen Hunt coming on for Damien Duff. Darron Gibson then got the nod to replace Keith Andrews.

Walters certainly made his presence felt but, with James McClean still waiting in the wings, Hunt hardly did enough to hoist himself further up the bill as an attacking option although, just before the end, he was the right man in the right place to clear substitute Szabic’s goal-bound effort off the line. Nevertheless, the fresh legs injected some new purpose into Ireland’s play, with Aiden McGeady setting up Cox for a shot which he drove straight at the keepers legs before Walters headed just wide from Hunt’s cross.

Hungary blew one great chance right at the death to seal what would have been a deserved win for them. But nil-nil it ended, taking Ireland’s run to 14 games unbeaten. The squad will train for the first time today at their tournament base in Gdynia, outside Gdansk, the session open to the public as a goodwill gesture before Trapattoni and his players retreat back behind closed doors to complete their preparations ahead of next Sunday’s game against Croatia in Poznan.

HUNGARY: Bogdan, Varga, Meszaros, Korcsmar, Gyurcso (Koltai 86); Dzsudzsak, Halmosi, Pinter (Vanczak 45), Koman, Szalai (Nemeth 80), Szakaly (Szabics 66).

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Westwood 45), O’Shea, Dunne, St Ledger, Ward, Duff, Whelan (Green 85), Andrews (Gibson 66), McGeady, Keane (Cox 60), Doyle (Walters 45)

Referee: Kenn Hansen (Denmark).