Soccer: Ireland grab three goals and three points

Goals from Ian Harte, Kevin Kilbane and Matt Holland could Ireland top of Group Two following their defeat of Andorra in Barcelona this evening.

Andorra 0, Ireland 3 (full-time)

Goals from Ian Harte, Kevin Kilbane and Matt Holland could put Ireland top of Group Two following their defeat of Andorra in Barcelona this evening.

Andorra were encamped in their own half right from the opening whistle at the Mini Estadia, leaving only tiny striker Juli Sanchez upfield as they formed a thick red barrier to repel the Irish attacks.

Left-back Lucendo was booked after only five minutes for tripping Damien Duff as the Blackburn winger tried to race clear down the right.

Ian Harte curled a 30-yard free-kick just wide after another foul, this time on Robbie Keane. Then David Connolly flashed at a knock-down by the Leeds striker and the ball flew way over the bar.

Robbie Keane missed a great chance to put Ireland in front after 10 minutes. Harte pin-pointed a left-wing cross straight on his head but goalkeeper Alfonso Sanchez parried for a corner.

Despite non-stop pressure Ireland could not find the target in the game’s opening phase.

Roy Keane, two-goal star of Saturday’s 4-0 win in Cyprus, had another opportunity when arriving unmarked to meet a Harte cross but headed straight at the goalkeeper from 10 yards.

When Duff was fouled again by Oscar for Andorra’s second booking, Harte planted the free-kick into the box where centre-backs Kenny Cunningham and Gary Breen went for it but succeeded only in sending the ball trickling into Alfonso Sanchez’s hands.

Manager Mick McCarthy decided he had better try to force his way past the rugged Andorra defence and threw on muscular Tottenham man Gary Doherty in place of the lightweight Connolly in the 26th minute.

But the breakthrough finally came when Roy Keane was bowled over by Alfonso Sanchez as he burst into the box on 32 minutes and took the ball past the keeper, although he was left with little room by then to have done anything productive with it.

Harte stepped up to despatch his second penalty in five days and the relief among the 5,000-plus Irish fans - heavily outnumbering the Andorran supporters - was clearly visible.

Duff, Roy Keane and Robbie Keane rained further shots on the Andorra goal.

Kilbane and Holland then scored within four minutes of each other to put the match beyond Andorra's reach.

Ireland have now taken 11 points from five games ahead of the clash between favourites Portugal and Holland in Oporto