Trapattoni praises Ireland defenders

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni reserved special praise for his defenders after last night's 0-0 draw with Croatia at the Aviva Stadium.

The hosts' goalscoring opportunities in the friendly were few and far between, but it was a generally sound display at the back for Ireland against a team ranked ninth in the world and with a starting line-up that included Tottenham trio Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and Vedran Corluka.