Kelly keeps Givens happy

Don Givens may have been unhappy with aspects of his Republic of Ireland Under-21s 2-1 victory over Albania – but he was impressed with Tottenham defender Stephen Kelly’s contribution.

Goals from Graham Barrett and John O’Flynn gave Ireland the home win in an awkward match as tiredness and lethargy saw them hanging on in the closing stages after Bledar Mansaru scored a late goal for Albania.

“I wasn’t happy with the performance,” he said.

“We were a little heavy-legged and lacked a spark. But we worked very hard and the boys deserve credit.

“I thought Stephen Kelly was fantastic. It’s only his second cap, and he is playing like a regular. He did everything he had to in defence and also got forward a lot.

“He was probably our best attacker even though he was playing right-back.”

Kelly provided a string of crosses to cause problems for the Albanians and eventually make Barrett’s opening goal.

Eighteen months ago, Kelly could not get into the Republic Under-19s squad. But a series of injuries saw him return for the final stages of qualification for the 2002 European Championships at that level and become a key member of the team.

He continued his progress at Tottenham this season and during a loan spell at Southend he impressed at centre-back before joining Queens Park Rangers on a similar deal until the end of the campaign.

At Loftus Road he became a fixture at right-back and helped them climb into the Second Division play-off places only to be beaten by Cardiff in the final.

Givens had been monitoring Kelly’s progress and called him in for the first time this summer.

“I have been watching Stephen for a number of years, and he is certainly a bright prospect,” said Givens.

“Going out on loan helped him a lot, and I think that next season he has to make sure he doesn’t go back to Tottenham’s reserves.

“If they play him in the first team that’s brilliant. But if they don’t - like a few boys in the squad – he has to go out on loan to continue his progress.”