SOCCER Euro 2008 Qualifying Group D/ Rep of Ireland 1Slovakia 0: Ah, this Irish team and records.After an autumn spent matching or bettering them for defeats both at home and abroad, last night at Croke Park they wrapped up their brief spring campaign by matching another with their fourth successive victory in a qualifying game, writes Emmet Maloneat Croke Park
On each of the three previous occasions they managed the feat, the team went on to qualify for a major championship and while that may still seem a rather remote possibility given the current state of a group dominated by Germany and the Czech Republic, their chances of beating their seeding and finishing third were certainly hugely enhanced by the three points earned here thanks to Kevin Doyle's early goal.
Though the margin of victory was the same as in Saturday's lifeless defeat of Wales, this was an entirely different game and win for Steve Staunton and his men, a fact clearly - and loudly - appreciated at the end by the crowd of 71,297.
For the first hour they dominated and for most of what came after that they hung on, but throughout there was ample evidence of the passion and passing that had seemed to be so painfully absent at the weekend.
During the time they were on top they generated enough chances to double or treble their lead, but their very best actually came late on when Stephen Hunt, after arriving from the bench for a tiring Stephen Ireland, again revitalised a flagging side.
Once again, the Reading midfelder's energy appeared to lift all around him and twice his perfectly weighted crosses set clubmate Shane Long up for what should have been a goal with the young striker's close-range header from a 79th minute corner cleared off the line by Vratislav Gresko before an attempt moments later to turn a quite brilliant curling ball hit at speed was directed wide of the mark. The failure to score either chance left the crowd to endure some nervous moments late on.
The back four played well while Shay Given celebrated an already special night for him with couple of very fine saves and a string of important interventions.
At times, the home side were a little fortunate to keep their noses in front but their work-rate merited the occasional lucky bounce of the ball.
The Irish sought to seize the initiative early on and by the 12th minute they were in front - Lee Carsley winning a free out towards the right from where Damien Duff curled the ball in for Doyle who stepped in front of Maros Klimpl to send a glancing header into the bottom right corner.
On another night, the early lead might have robbed the home side of its impetus, but here they remained resolutely intent on taking the game to their opponents and succeeded in rattling a capable-looking team with the intensity of their tackling and speed of movement.
In defence, Paul McShane briefly looked to be caught by the tempo of the game, but the 21-year-old quickly rose to the challenge and coped tremendously when under pressure in the second half. His challenge in the 58th minute, when Igor Zofcak played Martin Jakubko in for what looked a certain goal, was quite brilliant with the striker tumbling over as his shot was firmly blocked and moments later he teamed up with Richard Dunne to deprive the same striker with another fine piece of defending.
Further up the field, one of the starting team's two 20-year-olds, Stephen Ireland, had been excelling from early on, not just using the ball cleverly, but also toiling ceaselessly to unsettle opponents as they tried to shift play between defence and midfield.
The other, McGeady, had his moments too, perhaps most memorably when Ireland latched on to a long clearance by Given under pressure and neatly found the winger in space. McGeady, in turn, coolly teed up Kevin Kilbane whose shot, not for the last time over the course of the game, drifted well wide.
Finishing, of course, has never been the 30-year-old's strong suit, but for honest graft and perseverance few can match him.
Here, asked to strike a balance between lending a hand to Carsley as the Everton midfielder strove to protect the Irish back four, and providing a link to the three men charged with supporting the team's lone striker, he looked made for the part.
Early tangles with Zofcak and Marek Sapara showed he was not going to be muscled out of the proceedings, while a huge part of his contribution came in the form of mopping up possession after challenges by the likes of Carsley and, on a remarkable number of times during the first hour, Damien Duff.
Duff looked to have recaptured that magical touch of his over that first hour with the Dubliner quickly sensing, it seemed, that he had the beating of Peter Singlar, while also showing a willingness to roam back into his own half in order to provide valuable cover at key times.
More than once his movement went unnoticed by team-mates and he might well have had his first competitive goal in three and a half years with just half an hour gone, but for Doyle's poorly-judged decision to shoot rather than pass to him after Ireland had stolen in to capitalise on a mistake by Gresko.
Doyle, like many others on the night, performed strongly over the course of the game. The return game in Slovakia six months from now is next up and it may prove an even tougher challenge as Ireland seek to make up the ground lost in Cyprus.
Staunton and his players go into the summer break, though, having restored a great deal of pride and a fair amount of belief.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:Given (Newcastle Utd); O'Shea (Manchester Utd), McShane (WBA), Dunne (Manchester City), Finnan (Liverpool); McGeady (Celtic), Carsley (Everton), Kilbane (Wigan), Duff (Newcastle Utd); Ireland (Manchester City); Doyle (Reading). Subs:Hunt (Reading) for Ireland (70 mins); Long (Reading) for Doyle (74); A Quinn (Sheffield Utd) for McGeady (87).
SLOVAKIA:Contofalsky; Singlar, Skrtel, Klimpl, Gresko; Zofcak, Sapara, Borbely, Svento; Jakubko, Vittek. Subs:Holosko for Sapara (72 mins); Sestak for Singlar (79); Michalik for Svento (87).
Referee:Y Baskakov (Russia).
Attendance:71,297
