Andrews: We've come a long way under Trap

Keith Andrews believes the Republic of Ireland demonstrated how far they have progressed after he scored the opening goal in his side’s 2-0 friendly victory over Italy in Liege.

Andrews’ opener was followed by a last-minute strike from Simon Cox to leave manager Giovanni Trapattoni unbeaten in three games against his native Italy following the teams’ two draws in the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign.

Andrews told Sky Sports 1: “(We have come) a hell of a long way. We played them in the last campaign and we felt we should have won at least one of those two games.

“It shows how far we have come.

“It’s four games, four clean sheets.”

West Brom striker Cox was exhilarated after the game, telling Sky Sports 1: "It's been a dream come true to represent the country. I've been overjoyed.

“We defended like warriors today, we defended from the front.”

He added: “At club level the manager [Roy Hodgson] has given me an excellent chance to prove myself and I come here and he [Trapattoni] has given me the chance.

“I am happy with both of them.”

Trapattoni insisted beating Italy did not make victory sweeter.

He said: “I don’t need the rivalry against Italy.

“When we play we play to win. The team is [going in] a good direction.”

The friendly followed Ireland's Carling Nations Cup campaign but the Italian insisted arranging such a game had been the right thing.

“The manager needs these friendly games,” he said. “We had four or five young players who get the experience.

“It is not like Italy where we have a squad of 30.

“We need to create a team.”