Tom Humphries Managers' reactionLittle learned but something preserved at Lansdowne. No fists pumping the summer air, no roars of eureka renting the gentle night. Brian Kerr didn't do one of his patented sideline jigs. Seven games into his reign and being still unbeaten means little. He wore the look of a mechanic whose ear tells him that the engine is running smoothly and the hard road is still ahead.
"I think Australia were hard done by that they lost the match overall. In terms of the Russian game we've used a lot of players, had a look, got a match under the belt which we needed badly. Used some players who haven't played very much because they haven't been available to me. That's a help. And the fact that we were behind and came back to win. That's useful. It's the first time we've been behind recently. I wondered how we would react to going behind."
Friendlies at this time of year are loath to offer up much by way of information. Football is still limbering up and footballers are reluctant to expose their bones to much peril. Australia, perhaps because their get togethers are a little more novel than ours, seemed more enthusiastic about the occasion and their early attacks had Kerr a little jumpy
"They were dominant in midfield in the first half. All around the pitch they were quicker to the ball. At the back they had us in their grasp. At half-time, I don't know if we fixed it. We just made everyone aware we could do better and pointed out a few little technical things. Some of the fresh players added a bit. Colin Healy got a good second wind. Ian Harte's deliveries. They were the things that changed it."
"Australia don't play too many internationals. They were gunning for a match as we'd say. Like fellas who've given up smoking. They had more about them in the first half. Nicky (Colgan) deserved man of the match. I thought Australia played well, they looked fresher. Our performance wasn't typical of the way we play."
The casualties were light but significant. Matt Holland and Robbie Keane left the field of play in various states of disrepair. Kerr was remaining optimistic.
"Matt Holland had a slight twist of his ankle and felt sore. We took him off immediately. Robbie twisted the ankle after his shot. Quite sore. We won't know how serious it is for a couple of days. He doesn't usually take long to recover."
There was some irony in the fact that Ireland's two goals came after the crocking of Keane. When he was on the field he looked like the only conduit through which electricity might flow. In his absence there was a sudden and unexpected surge.
John O' Shea! Ireland level.
Clinton Morrison! Ireland ahead.
The introduction of Morrison began in hindsight to look like a masterstroke. Kerr was inclined to play down his grandmaster status.
"The first two subs were forced through injuries. Otherwise, Gary Breen has had no football since the Georgia game. I'd made my mind up that he would only play half. In the second half Finnan has had 90 minutes of pre-season football and Mark Kinsella the same, just bits and pieces while Damien Duff has played two quite quickly. So some of the subs were forced on me by circumstances."
Room for thought though?
"There was plenty of room for thought before. Plenty after. Clinton has had very little football since March. Two reserve games. That was my reservation. Colin Healy started training at Sunderland last Wednesday. Hasn't played a game since Georgia. I didn't think I'd have to play him for so long. It's nice when fellas come in like that and do well for you."
There was also a brief performance by Frank Farina, the Australian manager.
"I'm very disappointed, to lose a game after the manner in which we played. We played well. There was a period in the second half where they got on top of us. You have to expect that when you are away from home. In general we did well," he said.
"You can speculate on chances. It would have been nice to have a 2-0 cushion, That's football.
The pleasing thing was we created opportunities and not to get more out of it is disappointing."
