Manager buoyed by young bloods

So long, 2012. It’s been emotional.

After a dozen games, 34 goals – 20 of them conceded — and a first major tournament in ten years, Ireland closed their doors for the calendar year with a fifth loss. It will be three months before the shutters are raised and trading begins again.

There were slivers of positivity to be mined from this latest Ireland shift. For the first 20 minutes, they kept the ball on the floor and dictated the tempo and direction of the game and they enjoyed large spells of dominance after the break, too.

Maybe it was the youth injected into the side but there was vitality about them even if the scars from recent reversals seemed to aid in their deflation when the Greeks awoke from their slumber and decided to be that bit more proactive.

How strange it was, too, to witness so many causes celebre on the field at the same time: Shane Long, James McClean, Seamus Coleman, James McCarthy and, after the interval, Wes Hoolahan.

When Ireland opened their yearly account against the Czech Republic in another friendly back in March, Coleman and McCarthy watched it all from the stands and McClean was afforded ten miserable minutes in garbage time.

“The result gave us great disappointment,” said Giovanni Trapattoni, “but the performance gave us confirmation of what I look for from the players like Long, McCarthy and McClean.

“They confirmed that against a great team because Greece is a great team. The first 20 minutes we played great football. Afterwards we conceded a goal but we had more possession but football is the result not the performance. I have seen their personality in this important game.

“Yesterday, one of the first words I said was that the players were well and quick and fast. We saw this tonight in the game and we started with great personality and they played quickly. After the goal it was not easy but we had a good reaction.”

Greece coach Fernando Santos bore the look of a man anxious to be done with his day’s work as he rubbed his eyes endlessly, but he stopped long enough to give his assessment of an opponent rebounding after that German debacle.

“I believe that the Irish team has many chances to qualify for the World Cup, maybe not in the first position because that will be more difficult but the Irish team has great character and with these two aspects they may be able to pass through the play-offs and get to Brazil.

“It was, as expected, a very competitive game between two good teams. In the second half the Irish team tried to press us but our team reacted very well. We had a very good defensive organisation and this was the key to our victory.”