O’Neill calls on Doyle to revitalise career
With the Republic of Ireland boss making seven changes to his starting line-up from the stalemate against Italy in London the week before, this 1-1 draw against the Central Americans just outside Philadelphia was another valuable exercise for the new manager.
But particular attention was paid to Doyle who showed O’Neill and his coaching staff both sides of his game, reminding everybody what brought him to the Premier League with Reading in the first place.
Not only was he in the wars to the extent that a bloodied gash in his head led to an opponent’s dismissal but he also used his head early in an entertaining friendly to notch an impressive goal, his first since 2012 against Oman.
His club fortunes have been mixed of late, a loan deal to QPR from his current club Wolves ending in joy at Wembley with promotion to the Premier League.
However, at 30, he faces a crossroads in his career once he returns from the US.
“I said to Kevin… it’s finding your way back, really it’s finding your way back,” O’Neill said.
“He has to ask himself what has happened in the last couple of years — whether it’s sometimes you don’t score the goals and feel as if that’s your major job and confidence is affected and then you start to drop down a couple of divisions and of course relegation with Wolves doesn’t help anybody but he has a bit of rejuvenation going to Queens Park Rangers helping them get into the Premier League but that’s where he has got to aim to try and get back to, to the player he was a couple of years ago.
“There shouldn’t be any reason for him not to be able to do that ... in fact, it was confidence and confidence was low.
“Tonight, I thought he did really well for us, you know he chased the one down in the corner eventually to get us the goal and that was great for his confidence.
“I think Roy Keane had asked him beforehand when had he actually last scored for Ireland and it was some time ago.
“Like most players at this minute, especially if you have done something half decent in the big league, you want to get back to that and he will have to help himself to do that.”
Even his former boss Steve Coppell noted last week that the hard labour Doyle is so willing to do around the box has worked against him in terms of the statistics that matter. Doyle himself was delighted to get on the scoresheet but regretted the result didn’t go Ireland’s way.
“We played well in the first half but in the second half we were not as good and they played some good stuff,” Doyle noted. “We had chances to win the game.”
The goal itself was typical of Doyle at his peak — riding a couple of tackles and not taking a lost cause for an answer. His cross ultimately created a follow-up phase from which Marc Wilson sent the ball back in perfectly for Doyle to meet it just inside the 18-yard-line, directing a forceful header beyond the stretching Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
“It was a great ball in by Marc,” said Doyle. “He looked up and saw me make a run and put a great ball in. I just tried to put as much power and contact on it as possible and it flew in.”
Just over 20 minutes later, the match took a turn for the tetchy when Doyle was the victim of a rash elbow. The front man hadn’t been booked for an earlier clash with his marker Giancarlo Gonzalez but the Costa Rican centre back was sufficiently riled up to seek retribution which he duly accomplished in the 41st minute. Sizing up the Wolves forward as a long ball launched down the middle, Gonzalez led with his left elbow and although it seemed to graze the top of the Wexford man’s head, Honduran referee Raul Castro saw fit to flash a yellow card.
But then as a bloodied Doyle began to remonstrate with his opponent, the man in the middle suddenly changed his mind and brandished a red card to the Costa Rican centre back.
“I think he felt aggrieved from a challenge I had made a bit earlier on. He had a couple of goes at trying to get me back. And he made enough contact that time.
“He seemed to have a problem with something — I don’t know. Thankfully, the ref dealt with him. The blood was coming out of me so he deserved to be sent off.”
IRELAND (4-4-2): D Forde; S Kelly, R Keogh, S Duffy, M Wilson; A Pilkington, G Whelan, P Green, S Quinn; R Keane (capt), K Doyle.
Subs: J McClean for Wilson (40); J Hendrick for Green (66); S Long for Doyle (70); W Hoolahan for Keane (83); S Cox for Quinn (83).
COSTA RICA (3-4-3): K Navas; O Duarte, G Gonzalez, M Umana; H Mora, JM Cubero, C Borges, J Diaz; J Campbell, M Urena, B Ruiz.
Subs: P Pemberton for Navas (ht); C Bolanos for Ruiz (70); R Brenes for Urena (79); D Calvo for Campbell (87).
Referee: Raul Castro (Honduras)
