Roy: Ask not what Robbie can’t do for his country

We learned in July that Ireland would have to take on world champions in Group D of Euro 2016 qualifying.

Mon, 13 Oct, 2014 - 01:00

Liam Mackey

And, perhaps even more worryingly, we learned on Saturday night that they will now be taking on world champions with a point to prove.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it makes it any easier,” says Roy Keane of the implications of Poland’s shock 2-0 win in Warsaw. Or at least shocking to most, if not necessarily Ireland’s assistant manager.

“Like any top team, you think that Germany will react after a defeat,” he continues. “Poland are a decent team so I was not that shocked. But you would expect a response (from Germany) just like they did after they were beaten by Argentina, by beating Scotland.

“It was always going to be a tough challenge, does it make it tougher? You would expect a reaction from top players and that’s what they’ve got. And they’ve still got that quality whatever way you want to look at it.”

“But I don’t think our lads would be fearful going into any game. If anything they’ll look forward to it. It’s what it’s all about: brilliant atmosphere, playing against a top team. It’s a different challenge than Saturday obviously as everyone was not only expecting us to win the game, it was about by how many goals. We’re going into a wounded animal with Germany. That will be a test, of course it will be, but that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to be tested.

“Let’s not kid ourselves, we’re not a crowd of schoolboys going into a game. John O’Shea, Robbie Keane, they’ve played 100 odd times for their country. They should be looking forward to it.”

But should the result in Warsaw give Ireland encouragement to have a right go tomorrow night? “A right go? Well, it depends what you call a right go,” Keane parries. “Professional football is about getting the balance right. It’s not about being gung-ho. It’s about making sure we’re defensively set up properly but then when we get a chance we’ve got players who can beat people, like McGeady and McClean if they both start. You have to be positive. If you go to Germany planning to defend for 90 minutes you’re in big, big trouble. You have to get that balance right – defend as a team but when we get opportunities, go forward.

“Those opportunities might be limited, it depends on the possession, it might be 60-40, 70-30 – who knows? But I’ve said before, possession doesn’t win you football matches. Poland showed that when you get these one or two opportunities, you’ve got to take them. We didn’t create loads in Georgia but the one or two we made the most of. So, yeah, let’s get the balance right.”

With Germany looming, is it a concern that Ireland got a bit sloppy defensively in the late stages of the game against Gibraltar? “When the game’s done and dusted that can happen and players switch off a little bit and, maybe, start looking at Tuesday night. Which is human nature, as well. The bottom line is we didn’t concede on Saturday. Obviously, the game was done and dusted after 15 minutes. I don’t think it was a physical, demanding game for the players so we’ve got good options going in to Tuesday.

“But whether their manager makes changes or not…it’s a tough call now. ”

One of which may concern whether playing away from home against Germany – with the visitors, one suspects, opting for a 4-5-1 formation – can really play to the strengths of Robbie Keane. His namesake allows that it’s a legitimate talking point, observing that “when you look at Robbie’s goalscoring record it’s always difficult to leave him out but obviously we’ve to look at the game and the bigger picture and what players we think (might suit). Again we’ve got good options among the players who didn’t start on Saturday. Shane Long, Doyler. Obviously Murph looks like he’s struggling with injury. Jon Walters. We’ve got good options but, again, that’s the manager’s call.”

Yet, perhaps the assistant manager nails his own colours to the mast when he adds: “The bottom line is that you can talk all day about ‘can we play Robbie away from home?’ and what he can’t do – but just look what he can do. He does the hardest part of football – he puts the ball in the back of the net. That’s why he gets the plaudits he gets and they’re all well deserved.”

And there is another perhaps telling namecheck for Ireland’s record-scorer when Roy Keane is asked if Ireland can follow Poland’s lead by making the most out of minimal possession tomorrow night.

“The stats would say the more possession you have, the more chance you have of winning football matches but it doesn’t guarantee you win matches,” he reflects. “We’ll have to go over there and whatever possession we get, whatever chances we can create, we have to take them and hopefully we’ll take one or two. We’ve got players who can put the ball in the net. Like Robbie Keane — he’s done it before.”

Keano closes the book

The Sunday papers might still have been rolling out the Roy Keane book quotes but, standing on the touchline in sun-splashed Malahide yesterday, the man himself was insisting he had already turned the page.

Not that we didn’t try a few novel lines of inquiry on the back of FAI boss John Delaney’s appearance on RTÉ’s ‘Saturday Night Show’.

He said you were a teddy bear, Roy? “[Smiles] Listen, there’s been a lot said about me in the last week or so.”

And that you made him a nice cup of tea? No response beyond a downward look and some inaudible mumbling. He also said we would have qualified for the 2006 World Cup if you’d been made captain by Brian Kerr.

“[Wearily] Ah listen, ifs and buts… Let’s look to the game on Tuesday. You can’t change the past.”

Sounds like you’re drawing a line under all the book stuff?

“I thought I already had. I did draw a line. If anyone felt it might have been a distraction, I think that’s nonsense. As I said, I’m working with professionals, I don’t think it was a problem.”

Another smile.

“All the players got a free copy so hopefully everyone’s happy.”

Givens’ 1975 hat-trick quicker than Keane’s

— by Paul Kelly

Robbie Keane’s strikes in the sixth, 14th and 18th minutes against Gibraltar was the earliest hat-trick ever recorded by a Republic of Ireland player in an international match.

But two Ireland strikers scored hat-tricks in a period of less than 12 minutes (but not from kick-off).

David Connolly needed just 11 minutes to complete a hat-trick against Liechtenstein at Lansdowne Road in 1997.

Don Givens scored the first three of his four goals against Turkey in a nine-minute spell at Dalymount Park in 1975.

Rapid fire — Ireland’s fastest hat-trick heroes

9 minutes: Don Givens v Turkey, 1974 (25, 28, 34 mins; fourth goal scored in 88th minute)

11 minutes: David Connolly v Liechtenstein, 1997 (29, 34, 40 mins)

12 minutes: Robbie Keane v Gibraltar, 2014 (6, 14, 18 mins)

29 minutes: John Aldridge v Latvia, 1992 (59, 81, 88 mins)

29 minutes: Paddy Moore v Belgium, 1934 (27, 48, 56 mins; fourth goal scored in 75th minute)

30 minutes: David Kelly v Israel, 1987 (41, 56, 71 mins)

48 minutes: Don Givens v USSR, 1974 (22, 30, 70 mins)

48 minutes: John Flood v Belgium, 1929 (32, 72, 80 mins)