Soccer:Robbie Brady will make his first international start after being named by Giovanni Trapattoni in the side to face the Faroe Islands in Torshavn on Tuesday night (7.0pm).
The Manchester United winger is one of three changes from the side that were hammered 6-1 by Germany at the Aviva Stadium last Friday night, a game in which he made a late cameo appearance and supplied the corner kick that led to the late consolation goal for Andy Keogh.
Brady takes the place of Simon Cox after the Nottingham Forest striker’s lacklustre showing on the left-side of midfield against the Germans.
Stoke City’s Marc Wilson also makes his first competitive start, taking over from Stephen Ward at left-back after a poor run of performances from the Wolves player.
The third change sees skipper Robbie Keane coming back into the side after recovering from the Achilles injury picked up in training last week that forced him out of the Germany game.
The LA Galaxy striker starts up front alongside Jon Walters as Trapattoni reverts to a 4-4-2 formation against the group minnows. Keith Fahey, who was part of the five-man midfield against Germany, is dropped to the bench.
Trapattoni said that the squad had reacted well in the aftermath of the Germany game and are ready for what he believes will be a tough challenge on the new artificial surface at the Torsvollur Stadium.
“Obviously this is a very important game for us, maybe also for our opponent. This is the match we must try to win. They (Faroe Islands) showed that they have a good balanced team with a lot of character, and also technical,” said the manager.
“I asked immediately after the Germany game our players to forget the disappointment and the result. They have reacted positively, I saw the players in training yesterday and I think they have recovered energy and enthusiasm.
“We had a good training session and there is a good atmosphere. The team has reacted well.”
Republic of Ireland:Westwood; Coleman, O'Shea, O'Dea, Wilson; Brady, Andrews, McCarthy, McGeady; Keane (capt), Walters
