AFTER enjoying as good a start to his competitive programme as he could reasonably have hoped for in Vaduz, tonight's game against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is likely to prove a good deal trickier for Mick McCarthy and his team.
Ireland were scarcely tested by Liechtenstein but this time there is little doubt that McCarthy's men will be genuinely stretched in their first home match of the qualifying tournament and we should learn a great deal about the progress that the new man is making with the squad.
Given all the talk about injuries that has gone on in the build up to this match it is surprising that Mick McCarthy has any choices at all to make in putting together his team but it is a measure of the progress he has made in bringing on new talent that, despite the absence of players like Niall Quinn, Ray Houghton and Roy Keane there are still a few question marks hanging over his selection.
Of the three absentees, Houghton's unavailability would appear to be the most serious blow for this particular game. In his last game the 34-year-old seemed to enjoy a new lease of life after being deployed in a more central role and his passing, probably the most insightful of any of our players including Keane, may be sorely missed tonight.
With Houghton out of the reckoning, McCarthy is likely to play Jason McAteer in the centre, where the Liverpool player has shown himself well capable of making an impression in the past. McAteer's return to some position was to be expected, though, while Alan McLoughlin, assuming he plays, is likely to be grateful for the opportunity to make an impression in a home match.
McLoughlin is a hard worker and a good passer of the ball but his particular style, especially his ability to arrive late in the opposition's box, is more of an asset away from home when there are likely to be less defenders on the other team and where other players pulling back tend to be less comfortable in front of their own goal.
In this match a somewhat different approach will probably have to be employed as the Macedonians will hardly come here looking to push forward in large numbers. Unless we are fortunate to manage a repeat of the early breakthrough we got in our opening match the team will have to be a great deal more patient this time and establish the sort of pattern that we will be hoping to see us through when we play better teams in the months to come.
The fact that McCarthy will be looking to bring some sort of continuity to the side is likely to be reflected up front where it seems that things will remain pretty much unchanged from last time out.
McCarthy basically has to pick two from Tony Cascarino, Keith O'Neill and John Aldridge and although the availability of the Tranmere manager will have come as a boost to him, I would have thought that, if he is fit enough to play, Cascarino's height should be enough to guarantee him a start while O'Neill's first few appearances in a green shirt have been such that it would surely be very difficult to drop him.
Cascarino's role would be important in the side because somebody will have to hold the ball up long enough for support to arrive from midfield while having some height in the centre is really essential if you are looking for wing backs to get forward into dangerous positions from where they can get crosses in. Some holding work would be expected from O'Neill too but the youngster, who is regarded now by many managers as the best forward in the English first division, is better at looking for space out wide and then running with the ball at his feet.
The Leeds pairing of Ian Harte and Gary Kelly look to be the ideal partnership for the wing back positions and Kelly's omission this time is a little disappointing but it is a measure of how much progress he, and some of the young players who followed him into the Irish set up, have made in such a short space of time that we arc now surprised to see them fall, however temporarily, out of favour.
Jeff Kenna seems the most likely one to benefit from the Kelly's absence with McCarthy probably looking to keep the same defence he played in Liechtenstein together for this outing. Phil Babb is a very able player to have to call on if it comes to it but, of the various defensive options open at the moment, the combination of Den is Irwin, Gary Breen and Stephen Staunton is probably the best.
Breen has improved with every game that have seen him play and the fact that he is working alongside Steve Bruce at the heart of the Birmingham defence every week now can only help to speed his development. His role, and that of the players beside him should prove especially important this evening for, if as expected Macedonia devote few of their resources to attack, our three centre halves must get forward to support the midfield if we are to sustain any serious pressure on the visitors.
The Macedonians will have a number of highly capable players on show this evening and, while we certainly should win this game, nothing can be taken for granted.
Regardless of what happens on this occasion, though, McCarthy will be looking for signs that the system he favours is falling into place and that he has players who are equally comfortable slotting into particular roles because that is what his longer term success will be based on.
His work with the younger players in America over the summer and in some of the other friendly matches has ensured that McCarthy already has more options than his predecessor appeared to enjoy a year or so ago and when some of the injuries clear up the competition for places will grow even more healthy. In the immediate future, though, a second competitive win would keep Ireland's qualification campaign rolling along nicely and give McCarthy considerable reason to be happy with his progress to date.
