Ireland - 58 Australia - 65:History repeated itself with a vengeance for Ireland in yesterday's first Test of the Coca Cola International Rules series at Croke Park.Just as happened two years ago, the home side shaped up as likely winners during the first half, lost the initiative in the third quarter and the match in the fourth.

The advantage the Australians take into next week's second Test is almost identical to that in 2000 - seven rather than eight points - and once again Ireland will be under pressure from inopportunely-timed club fixtures in a number of key counties.

In a further echo, the home side's problems were greatly exacerbated by a failure to take six-point goal chances.

The parallels could also be seen in the tactical switch which helped swing the match. At half-time Australia trailed by double scores, 19-38, and needed some inspiration to accompany their traditional advantage in perspiration during the third and fourth quarters.

Professional preparation and full-time training generally give Australia an edge as a match wears on, but it was the move of Matthew Pavlich from midfield to attack that sent the visitors' tills ringing. Just as Justin Leppitsch's switch from defence two years ago was instrumental in his team's recovery, so too was Pavlich's redeployment.

The big Fremantle player scored 13 points in the second half, demonstrating a range of skills, from relatively straightforward marks to some fine kicking of overs and a deadly finish for his side's first goal. He was joined in attack by defender Chris Johnson who also showed well with seven second-half points.

With the run on the scoreboard under way in earnest, Ireland's game disintegrated, particularly in defence.

This was a surprise given that in the first half the team dealt capably with all attacks launched in on them, breaking the dropping ball and snapping up the loose possession.

Cork's Graham Canty was particularly effective - to the extent that he was the one Irish player who lasted the whole 80 minutes without relief from the inter-change bench. He got good support from Trevor Giles, who performed a tight marking job on the anticipated Australian danger man, Nathan Brown.

The effort flagged in the second half, and coming on top of the Australian improvement spelt trouble for Ireland's prospects. Not only did the visitors' fitness and the recast attack begin to take a toll, but Ireland's defence tired. And with goalkeeper Peter Burke's kick-outs wayward, the Australians picked up easy possession.

Giles remarked that they hadn't expected the wasted goal opportunities to come against them, so complete was the domination of the first half.

But by the end they had become a matter of sore regret. Australia manager Garry Lyon rightly paid tribute to goalkeeper Andrew Kellaway who made crucial saves.

The Richmond defender is the latest in a line of improvised goalkeepers, such as Stephen Silvagni and Gary McIntosh, to have come from the AFL where there is no equivalent position. Exceptional in 2000, Kellaway was sorely missed in last year's series when injury ruled him out and his absence cost the team scores.

But Kellaway was back in town yesterday. He saved from Graham Geraghty in the 10th minute, when a deflection gave the Meath man a good chance, and from Darragh Ó Sé five minutes later when the Kerry captain had two chances before having to settle for a behind, the one-point score.

Otherwise Ireland did their bit to keep their opponents in the game. In the 47th, minute Padhraic Joyce went it alone with both Geraghty and Dessie Dolan free inside - and scored only a behind. Joe Bergin did likewise with a 66th-minute goal chance, and four minutes from the end Ray Cosgrove hesitated on a snap chance, and off-loaded the ball to Dolan only for the pass to be intercepted.

So Ireland manager John O'Keeffe's ambition to score four or five goals didn't fail for the want of opportunities. But fail it did, and it was the Australians who scored more goals, two to one.

At times the game degenerated into the witless brawling that for some reason always seems close to the surface of International Rules despite being severely punishable in both of the constituent codes.

There were also some nasty scenes. Meath's Evan Kelly was sin-binned for throwing a punch in one of the scatters, as was Australia's David Neitz for a dangerous charge that flattened Paul McGrane and put him out the game. Beyond that, the joint committee on discipline should find plenty to interest them in the match video.

Ireland's superior kicking built the early lead. There were some fine examples of the home side's ability to place accurate foot passes and create chances for the mark. Australia struggled and showed little of the round-ball facility that had been so apparent in last week's practice match.

Lyon said that he had told his players at half-time that it wasn't a 19-point game, but to the rest of us watching the scoreboard wasn't lying and the future of the whole international project, let alone the series, looked on the line.

Nine minutes into the second half came the goal that changed the match. Kieran McGeeney was caught in possession by Johnson and Pavlich picked up and drove into the net. The margin was still 10, 40-30, but the score inspired Australia to rattle off two overs and the match was back in the melting pot.

Within seconds of the final quarter starting Brown had pushed the visitors in front for the first time. With 10 minutes to go a seven-point defeat would have appeared a bit of an achievement for Ireland. Daniel Kerr's smartly-taken goal from a ball that broke in front of the Irish goal extended Australia's lead to 10.

The Irish cause and the competitive prospects of the series were revived by a goal with seven minutes left. Joyce, having learned from earlier, had everyone including Kellaway convinced that he was again going alone but flipped the ball to Dolan who palmed to the net.

Burke saved the day in the 75th minute with a fine save from Adam Yze, and again held out when a goal-line scrum in the dying seconds nearly yielded a goal that would have killed the second Test.

Lyon and his captain, Shane Crawford, were a bit dubious about the legality of the preventative procedures, but Irish players were also grumbling about the Australian umpire Scott McClaren's award of a couple of frees in the second half.

Ireland face a difficult task next week, but at least it remains just about in the realms of the possible.

How they lined out:

Ireland

1. P Burke (Mayo)

25. A Rainbow (Kildare)

4. G Canty (Cork)

14. A Lynch (Cork)

21. E O'Hara (Sligo)

16. K McGeeney (Armagh)

9. T Giles (Meath)

22. D O Se (Kerry)

20. S Moynihan (Kerry, capt.)

12. E Kelly (Meath)

13. T Kennelly (Kerry)

3. J Bergin (Galway)

11. P Joyce (Galway)

18. C McManus (Offaly)

8. G Geraghty (Meath)

Inter-change

6. R Cosgrove (Dublin)

7. D Dolan (Westmeath)

15. C McAnallen (Tyrone)

17. P McGrane (Armagh)

19. D Meehan (Galway)

23. T O Se (Kerry)

24. BJ O'Sullivan (Cork)

26. D Savage (Galway)

Australia

20. A Kellaway (Richmond)

26. M Bickley (Adelaide)

8. J Clement (Collingwood)

30. M Scarlett (Geelong)

5. B Scott (Brisbane)

32. C Bruce (Melbourne)

C Johnson (Brisbane)

29. M Pavlich (Fremantle)

11. S Crawford (Hawthorn)

4. D Kerr (West Coast)

13. A Yze (Melbourne)

6. C Judd (West Coast)

44. S Milne (St Kilda)

9. D Neitz (Melbourne)

17. N Brown (Western Bulldogs)

Inter-change

3. B Montgomery (Port Adelaide)

7. A Simpson (Kangaroos)

10. J Francou (Port Adelaide)

12. T Edwards (Adelaide)

14. L Darcy (Western Bulldogs)

21. C Bradley (Carlton)

37. A Lekkas (Hawthorn)

45. C Ling (Geelong)

Yellow cards

Ireland - E Kelly (37 mins)

Australia - D Neitz (25 mins)