New man's new thinking reflected on the pitch
Manager picking the players who show him true commitment, writes Eamonn Sweeney
When Robbie Keane put Aiden McGeady away on the right and the Celtic midfielder put in a perfect cross for Kevin Doyle to bullet home a header in the 12th minute it struck you that this is what we should have expected. Here, after all, was one of the most expensive strikers in Europe finding a player who has given a string of fine Champions League performances who in turn delivered the ball to a forward with a proven goalscoring record in the Premiership.
The problem in recent years has been that this trio, among others, have given the impression of having been replaced by less talented body doubles who donned the green jersey in their stead. That early goal, though, suggested that Giovanni Trapattoni may at least have achieved the apparently simple task of getting the most out of the players he has at his disposal, something which eluded his two predecessors.
Ireland's second goal also suggested that the holy water which our new boss employs before each match may be already paying dividends. There appeared to be no danger whatsoever when Glenn Whelan let fly from 30 yards but the Georgian keeper picked that moment to do an impersonation of a Scottish goalie from the 70s and fumble the ball into his net. From then on we had that rarest of occurrences for an Irish team, a routine victory.
The boys in green have provided so much material for the connoisseur of trauma of late between Israel, San Marino, Slovakia and Cyprus that any kind of win is not to be sneezed at. It perhaps says something about the amount of scar tissue which has built up on our native footballing psyche that there was a distinct sense of foreboding when Georgia began to enjoy the lion's share of possession immediately prior to Whelan's goal. We have learned by bitter experience to take nothing for granted.
In the circumstances this professionally wrought away victory was in its way as remarkable as if Ireland had suddenly begun to play with Brazilian levels of flair. The routine efficiencies were so notable by their absence in the Staunton years that the workmanlike has been rendered beautiful. This win was the descendant of countless other hit-and-run raids engineered by Trapattoni in the days gone by.
There's no point getting carried away of course. Georgia were tentative and hesitant for much of the game, proving perhaps that having your country bombarded will only improve your chances in a Hollywood film. In real life it's more likely to leave you distracted and upset which is how Georgia looked in a first half hour when Ireland could have put the game to bed. Montenegro should definitely provide a sterner task. The loss of home venue can't have done Georgia much good either, especially considering that our travelling support made it look like Ireland had followed the imperialist lead of Russia and annexed Mainz.
But, on an evening when Scotland and Northern Ireland proved the kind of danger which can be posed by anything less than a solid performance in the qualifiers, it was heartening to see an Irish campaign get under way without going directly into crisis mode. Those Trap Must Go headlines will have to remain on ice for a little longer.
The manager will doubtless take no little satisfaction from the identity of our second goalscorer. Andy Reid and Lee Carsley may have their partisans but Glenn Whelan, even at this early stage, seems to have become something of a talisman for Trapattoni. Stoke City may currently be resistant to his charms but Whelan did everything which was asked and looked infinitely willing, a quality one suspects the boss places great store on.
Perhaps he's right because despite the flashes of brilliance from McGeady, Doyle and Keane this victory was founded on the midfield dominance of the central duo of Whelan and Steven Reid, hardly the most fashionable pair the manager could have selected but the most efficient double act we've had in this area for some time.
We did decide to give everyone the jitters by conceding that injury-time goal which made for a nervy final minute or so. The outlook may be brighter but there are some old bad habits which have survived the arrival of the new broom. It was perhaps a reminder to Trapattoni that the players he's inherited have not quite reached Italian levels of efficiency yet. No harm.
Perhaps the best indicator that things are different under Trapattoni was his pre-match declaration that he is looking for six points this week. His predecessors tended to talk down expectations so that anything achieved looked like a bonus and rebounded to their credit. The new man doesn't think like that. We're half-way there this morning. Quibblers about the performance should be referred to a video of where we've been for the last four years.
- Eamonn Sweeney
