Ireland subjected to humbling defeat

Nigeria 3 Rep of Ireland 0

If matches like this are about Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr finding out which players in his squad have a chance of playing a part in the forthcoming World Cup qualifying campaign then in many ways it was mission accomplished.

The Republic suffered their first defeat in a friendly since Kerr took charge at the beginning of last year but he will have learnt a lot from it.

Two of those fringe players hoping to make an impression were Leeds United’s Stephen McPhail, winning his 10th cap, and veteran midfielder Mark Kinsella, who won his 47th, but neither one covered himself in glory in this opening Unity Cup fixture at The Valley.

McPhail made an unforced error which should have resulted in a goal, while Kinsella was less fortunate as his mistake did help hand the slick Nigerians the opener after 36 minutes.

Kinsella, who for so long played at this ground for Charlton, lost possession and Bartholomew Ogbeche of Paris St Germain unleashed a fierce low drive from 20 yards which hit the inside base of the left post before bouncing into the opposite corner.

Ogbeche’s goal made amends for his poor miss after 18 minutes. McPhail gave the ball away in the centre circle and the Nigerians quickly worked it to Ogbeche who was unmarked on the left angle of the six yard line. However, with only goalkeeper Nicky Colgan to beat, he slid his shot against the far post.

Ireland’s midfield went missing to allow Nigeria to score a second, killer goal, four minutes into the second half, and that was the end of Kerr’s proud run in friendly fixtures and only the second defeat – but the heaviest – in his 16 matches in charge.

Obafemi Martins, the Inter Milan striker, ran unchallenged from just past halfway before skipping inside Kenny Cunningham on the edge of the box and poking a smart low shot inside Colgan’s left post.

Ireland’s embarrassment in front of the 7,438 crowd increased when they gifted Nigeria another soft goal after 69 minutes.

Cunningham hit a strong back pass without realising how close the goalkeeper was to him near the edge of his box, and it was almost impossible for Colgan to control the ball. It bounced off his body and fell into the path of Ogbeche who tapped it into the empty net.

Nigeria’s strong running forwards set the tone as early as the fifth minute as the holders of this trophy almost took the lead.

Seyi Olofinjana hit a powerful low drive from the right edge of the penalty area and Colgan made a good block with his legs. The Hibernian goalkeeper then had to react well as two Nigerians pounced on the rebound and he managed to jump to his feet and punch the ball clear.

As far as the learning process goes, that would have pleased Kerr, who has been concerned at the lack of experienced cover for Shay Given since the retirement of Charlton’s Dean Kiely.

Ireland’s only real chance in the first half came after nine minutes when Alan Lee bustled his way through on the right edge of the box before firing a low shot straight at the goalkeeper, and they deserved to be behind at the break.

Kerr made two changes at the interval with QPR winger Martin Rowlands and Stoke’s Clive Clarke replacing Liam Miller and Alan Maybury. That meant a second cap for Rowlands after he also came off the bench on Thursday, while for Clarke it was his senior international debut.

However, before either player could settle it was game over as Martins scored the type of goal which would have left Kerr fuming at the amount of freedom he was given.

The experiments continued after 66 minutes when Holland was replaced by Blackburn’s Jonathan Douglas for his second cap, having also come off the bench in Poland last month. He too had hardly settled before his team were three goals behind.

Nigeria play Jamaica on Monday afternoon before Ireland return to face the Jamaicans on Wednesday night with what promises to be a very experimental side.

Hopefully for Kerr, at the very least the learning process can continue.