Dunne edges Ireland ever closer to cherished play-off
Richard Dunne celebrates with Robbie Keane after his header gave Ireland the lead against Bulgaria in the Vasil Levski Stadion, Sofia last night
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Sunday June 07 2009
There may be permutations and possibilities that can deny Ireland a World Cup play-off at the very least, but last night in Sofia it didn't seem that way after a 1-1 draw with Bulgaria.
When Giovanni Trapattoni emerged to do his TV interviews 20 minutes after the game, the 2,500 Irish fans acknowledged what they believe now to be a reality.
"He used to be Italian but he's Irish now," they chanted as the Irish manager walked down the running track to applaud them before they began to announce their plans for travelling to South Africa next summer. Trapattoni may have hoped that the molecular theory would have worked the other way and that his side would be more Italian.
Ireland conceded a sloppy goal last night -- "again a little detail", he said -- yet it didn't matter.
After last night's draw in Sofia, Ireland now have a better chance of topping the group than finishing third and while there remains a danger of finishing second and not being among the top eight second-placed sides, a victory in Cyprus in September would take care of all problems.
Calamity is always within the grasp of recent Irish teams and a visit to the Cypriot graveyard for recent Irish managers will now come with added pressure but also great incentives.
Bulgaria have a game in hand but it is away in Italy and they also have to play in Cyprus. They needed to win last night and having gone into the game with swaggering confidence the Bulgarian coach Stanimir Stoilov left the Vasil Levski Stadium last night muttering that perhaps it was time to take Ireland more seriously.
There is a defiance running through this Irish team which at least compensates for its self-destructiveness. Leading in Sofia last night after 23 minutes of impressive football, a mistake by the most committed of Irish players, Kevin Kilbane, gave Bulgaria an equaliser when they had seemed to be robbed of something even more important: belief.
The game was then turned upside down. Trapattoni said the team were then worried they would lose and they conceded possession and allowed Bulgaria to play.
They can play. Berbatov prowled around, languid as a lounge lizard, but he has some seductive lines and Ireland seemed to be edging towards succumbing.
That they didn't was in the main down to the outstanding Richard Dunne. The defender played with a cortisone injection, telling the management that he would have a summer to feel good again. This was the last game of the season and the pain could be tolerated on the beach.
He couldn't be stopped, scoring the opening goal and then suffocating Bulgaria's play. He was helped manfully by Sean St Ledger, another improbable hero and, the most unlikely of them all, Caleb Folan.
Folan was exceptional, leading the line, holding up play and taking the ball into dangerous areas. When the time came for Trapattoni to make a forward substitution, he had no alternative. Robbie Keane was taken off for the first time in a competitive game since Brian Kerr made one last desperate move in October 2005. Keane and Glenn Whelan were Ireland's marginal figures while Folan, Dunne and Damien Duff offered hope.
But this was about the transformation of an ordinary team into an ordinary team that now believes in itself. "We have to keep our feet on the ground," Trapattoni said but he was exuberant after a game he said was more difficult than the match in Italy in April.
As the game last night went into the long minutes of injury time, Trapattoni marched along the touchline, pointing his fingers to his temples, emphasising what was needed.
There may come a time when Ireland play their way out of trouble, but for the moment escaping from its clutches through will and nerve is good enough.
Before every game Ireland play, Robbie Keane is asked a question about what a positive result would do for the morale of a beleaguered nation. Every time Robbie answers dutifully.
The pre-match press conference is a difficult arena in which to sound inspirational -- only Roy Keane could really manage it -- and Robbie rarely does. He makes the right noises, talks about the tough times and promises a performance of unity and effort that will recognise the needs of the country. So far under Trapattoni they have at least demonstrated a refusal to believe that there is no hole a team can't get themselves out of, even if some of the initial digging had been done by themselves.
Last night, Ireland climbed free of the hole. They are heading towards the mountaintop.
Report & Analysis
- Dion Fanning
