Kevin Long shows Martin O’Neill he’s up to the task

There were only a couple of selection decisions Martin O’Neill needed to be convinced of last night and Kevin Long did well enough against Uruguay to show he’s capable of stepping up to the challenge of a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

Central-defence is an area the Ireland manager prefers stability yet his hand has been forced during the two campaigns he’s been involved in - mainly down to circumstances.

Sean St Ledger, a favourite of predecessor Giovanni Trapattoni, began his injury nightmare on O’Neill’s first away trip in November 2013 to Poland and Marc Wilson, who replaced him as a mainstay, fell out of favour at Stoke City in the latter stages of the journey to last year’s Euro finals.