Fringe men stake their claims

Rep of Ireland 2 Poland 0

Whether the latter’s hugely impressive 30 minutes in the Aviva will inspire Giovanni Trapattoni to see him in more than a cameo role must remain moot but, for the Irish fans who made up the minority in a bumper attendance of 43,100, there was enough in Hoolahan’s impeccable contribution to warm the cockles on a cold night and confirm why, in Norwich, the faithful have taken to hailing him as ‘Wessi’.

Mind, early on, there was scant evidence that the home supporters would end the evening with anything at all to sing about. Confounding hopes of, at least, a high-tempo start by Ireland, all the early running was made by Poland, Shane Long left isolated up front as the home side was obliged to soak up fairly relentless pressure.

With Paul McShane struggling at right-back and Greg Cunningham looking a touch overawed, the Poles were firmly on the front foot in front of their delighted fans. In reply, the most the Irish could muster were those all too familiar long kick-outs from David Forde which, against robust marking, target man Conor Sammon could do little to exploit.

Glenn Whelan worked hard in midfield, James McClean busted a lung but to no great effect and Robbie Brady showed sparks of creativity from time to time but, overall, Ireland were being made to look thoroughly second-rate, unable to keep possession let alone construct anything in the way of a creative move.

New No. 1 Forde’s worrying unease with the ball at his feet was evident in two scuffed clearances, the second of which saw him then make a redemptive save from Borussia Dortmund dangerman Robert Lewandowski. The keeper also did well to deny the number nine in a one on one in the 28th minute.

Up to that point, Ireland had only a harmless Brady effort to show for their feeble attempts to threaten Artur Boruc’s goal but, as so often happens in one-sided games, the under-pressure side unexpectedly took the lead. Ireland’s best and perhaps only opportunity of a breakthrough had always looked like it might come from a set-piece and, sure enough, from what was their very first corner as late as the 34th minute, James McClean’s whipped ball into the box caused havoc and, when Long’s acrobatic effort could only be parried by Boruc, Ciarán Clark was on hand to guide the loose ball to the back of the net for his first goal for his country.

Given the Irish manager’s devotion to the primacy of result over performance, the 1-0 half-time lead presumably scuppered any faint chance of Wes Hoolahan getting to show his guile — or even just put a foot on the ball — at the start of the second period, Trapattoni instead calling on one of his old reliables, Paul Green, in place of Glenn Whelan.

Green has never been a favourite of the fans or the critics but, to give him all the credit he is due, the Leeds man’s impact was immediate, his bite in the tackle and simple but intelligent use of the ball, helping create the midfield platform for a much improved Irish performance in the second half.

The 60-minute signalled the arrival of Hoolahan to a warm ovation, and the little schemer promptly repaid the supporters’ faith in him with a terrific display, crowned in the 75th minute by the sheer panache with which he doubled Ireland’s advantage after debutant Jeff Hendrick had picked him out with a lovely, lofted pass.

Trapattoni’s decision to set out his stall with his preferred 4-4-2 formation last night was perhaps the clearest signal yet that, for all the talk of experimentation and evolution, no radical surgery will be contemplated for the visit to Stockholm in March.

Which is not to say that there won’t be significant changes from the side which took Ireland to the heights of European Championship qualification only to crash and burn when the biggest test came around. Neither Seamus Coleman nor Marc Wilson were available last night but, injury permitting, all the indications are Trapattoni will employ them as his first-choice full-backs next month. Certainly, it’s impossible to see how he can overlook the Everton man whose outstanding talent makes him that rare thing: a player who can drive the team’s attack from a defensive position. But if, as ought to be the case, the right-back berth is Coleman’s to lose, then that will pose a selection puzzler in the centre of the back four.

John O’ Shea, skippering Ireland at centre-half, put in a productive shift but, in the event that both Richard Dunne and Sean St Ledger become available in time for the March qualifiers, the manager will have to find a solution to the basic math that three into two won’t go.

On the left side, a broken leg has kept Marc Wilson sidelined for some time but his confidence on the ball has long been evident at Stoke while Trap won’t forget his strike from distance was one of the highlights of that redemptive performance in the Faroes.

The highlights reel from last night however, would mainly revolve around the magic of Hoolahan but, despite Trap admitting he overlooked the player in the past, we probably shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for the gifted playmaker — and finisher — to get a competitive start.

Substitutes for Ireland: Paul Green for Glenn Whelan (45) Wes Hoolahan for Shane Long (62) Jon Walters for Robbie Brady (71) Jeff Hendrick for James McCarthy (71) Simon Cox for James McClean (80) Richard Keogh for Ciaran Clark (84)

Substitutes for Poland: Wojciech Szczesny for Artur Boruc (45), Kamil Grosicki for Szymon Pawlowski (45), Arkadusz Milik for Ludovic Obraniak (59), Adrian Mierzejewski Daniel Lukasik (70).