SOCCER/International Friendly, Rep of Ireland 0 Chile 1: A long unbeaten run in home friendlies having done his predecessor precisely no good at all when the World Cup qualification house came tumbling down last autumn, Steve Staunton will surely not be unduly concerned by last night's narrow defeat at Lansdowne Road.

On Tuesday he insisted his team would go out to win but while Brian Kerr's selections on such occasions tended to underline his determination to win, the new man showed a willingness to experiment with personnel and tactics that will surely serve him better in the long run than a rather meaningless victory.

It was, in short, an educational experience as these games should be, though not everything he learned from last night's outing will have pleased Staunton. His surprise adoption of a 3-4-3 formation appeared, for a start, to cause his own players as least as many problems as the opposition.

Then there were the performances of his new men: Stephen Kelly, on his debut, looked like a man who is at least a year of regular first-team football away from readiness for this level; Kevin Doyle, on his second appearance, found life much harder than against the Swedes.

Overall it was a low-key game that included a number of jaded performances, and Staunton will take some consolation from the fact he already knows players like John O'Shea, Steven Reid and Robbie Keane are well capable of doing better.

Richard Dunne, like Damien Duff, had his moments but the Manchester City defender also went close to setting up a first-half opener for the visitors with a headed intervention while, when the only goal of the night finally came four minutes into the second period, it was he who might have cleared the danger.

Kevin Kilbane, was one of the Republic's better performers in a left-sided defensive role, and had the chance he created for Doyle just six minutes in been put away it might have been a very different night. As it was the Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo tidied up well after Pablo Contreras's initial challenge, after which the visiting side's goal only occasionally came under serious threat.

At full strength Chile, it should be noted, would have been a much more challenging proposition but like Staunton, Nelson Acosta was constrained last night by enforced absences and the need to cast an eye to the future.

Just three of the 11 who started the team's last game of the failed World Cup qualification campaign, a goalless draw against Ecuador last October, were on hand from the outset here and there was no David Pizarro, the highly-rated creative midfielder.

They had, however, brought Mark Gonzalez to town and the 21-year-old winger showed why Liverpool had paid some €5.5 million for his services last year. Having failed to secure a work permit he returned to Spain, where five goals in 16 games underlined his ability to make an impact in a top league. His international credentials were also hard to question after this, a game in which he exploited the uncertainty that existed between Steven Reid and the Republic's right-sided centre back, Kelly, with some flair and almost scored with a spectacular close-range shot that came off the bar after he had chested down that header from Dunne.

Reid had a mixed night but was fortunate not be dismissed for an off-the-ball kick at his rival early in the second half while he didn't look all that comfortable late on after being switched to right back. What the Blackburn player may find harder to forget about the night is being booked for a foul on Luis Jimenez and the resulting Gonzalez free that ultimately led to the Chilean goal.

It was scarcely a thing of beauty but the visitors didn't look too bothered. The free took a couple of deflections on the way toward the six-yard box, and after Dunne had passed up a prolonged opportunity to make the required clearance, Manuel Iturra finally put an end to the uncertainty by driving home his first goal in four international appearances.

Staunton paused for thought before reacting and when he did react, the changes he made were far reaching, only his team's front line left intact. Off came Gary Breen, O'Shea, Liam Miller - none of whom had made a great impression - as well as Shay Given, who had performed as solidly as ever. On in their places came Graham Kavanagh, Ian Harte and Aiden McGeady - as well as Wayne Henderson for the Newcastle goalkeeper.

The resulting reorganisation threw up the unexpected sight of Kilbane at centre back, where, to be fair, the 29-year-old did not look unduly out of place. Around him, the defence was reshaped into a conventional back four allowing Kelly to operate in his more familiar full-back role.

That alone would have justified the intervention, for Ireland's efforts at the back had been uncertain throughout.

But it was in midfield where things were most improved as Kavanagh, partnered by Reid, afforded some protection to those behind him from the centre of the pitch and McGeady injected life into the home side's previously tame efforts to generate a threat down the right.

In what remained of the game, however, it was the visitors who generated the better of the chances. True, Duff forced a lively save from Claudio Bravo from 20 yards out but Jimenez curled a fine free kick just wide of the right-hand angle in the dying moments of the 90 minutes before marking the start of the extended injury time by going within a whisker of punishing Henderson for a terribly poor kick-out.

Ireland's efforts to salvage a draw continued to the death but the Chileans dug in for a win that, on balance, it would be hard to begrude them.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); Kelly (Tottenham), Breen (Unattached), Dunne (Manchester City); S Reid (Blackburn Rovers), O'Shea (Manchester Utd), Miller (Leeds Utd), Kilbane (Everton); Keane (Tottenham), Doyle (Reading), Duff (Chelsea). Subs: Harte (Levante) for Breen, Kavanagh (Wigan Athletic), for Miller, Henderson (Brighton and Hove Albion) for Given, McGeady (Celtic) for O'Shea (all 49 mins), Byrne (Shelbourne) for Doyle (73 mins), A Reid (Tottenham Hotspur) for Kelly (85 mins).

CHILE: Bravo; Jara, Vargas, Contreras, Olarra; Concha; Iturra, Jimenez, Gonzalez; Suazo; Navia. Subs: Sanchez for Navia (76 mins), Galaz for Suazo (81 mins), Zenteno for Gonzalez (92 mins).

Referee: M Ingvarsson (Sweden).