Connolly hopes he has done enough

David Connolly is keeping his fingers crossed that he might just have fired his way into Brian Kerr’s plans for the Republic of Ireland’s decisive Euro 2004 showdown in Switzerland next month.

Ireland will almost certainly need to win their Group 10 clash in Basel if they are to have any chance of reaching next summer’s European Championship finals in Portugal, and Kerr must now give serious consideration to playing Connolly alongside Robbie Keane after the West Ham striker scored a stunning goal in last night’s 2-2 draw with Turkey.