Pistoia XI 0 Republic of Ireland 5:After events earlier in the day, tonight's game against a selection of lower league players was always going to be a bit of a sideshow but the Irish at least came through what was a reasonable work out in front of around 400 people without sustaining any new injury problems.
The game itself was pretty much what might have been expected with the locals winning the odd contest around the pitch and going close to scoring on a couple of occasions, while the Irish ultimately cruised to victory.
The Pistoia side was a fairly cobbled together affair, comprised of local players from Serie C and D and their play inevitably looked disjointed but they still stretched Giovanni Trapattoni’s side at times and could well have scored when Corrado Colombo drove against the foot of the post from distance.
On another couple of occasions they looked as though they might make something of Irish uncertainty at the back but it was they who dropped the bigger clangers around their own area and the international side that proved far more effective at capitalising on mistakes. Stephen Hunt made a few early on but then set up Simon Cox with a magnificent curling cross while the West Brom striker produced a cracking pass to lay on Robbie Keane’s second.
Being three up at the break meant that Trapattoni and co knew they didn’t have to worry about the evening ending in any sort of minor embarrassment and Shane Long then made it four 19 minutes into the second period.
By then McShane had moved to centre back and Kevin Foley, still wearing his intended squad number 13 on his back, had arrived on for what will now almost certainly be his last kick-around before a summer break. He rounded it off by creating the fifth goal with a curling free that was parried into the path of Jonathan Walters.
Cox, meanwhile, moved to the wing in place of McClean so as to make way for Long and Walters to partner each other, while David Forde came on for Keiren Westwood and made one very fine close range stop from Gianluca Bugelli.
Republic of Ireland: Westwood (Sunderland); McShane (Hull City), Dunne (Aston Villa), St Ledger (Leicester City), Kelly (Fulham); Hunt (Wolves), Green (Derby County), Andrews (West Brom), McClean (Sunderland); Cox (West Brom), Keane (LA Galaxy). Subs: Foley (Wolves) for Dunne, Long (West Brom) for McClean, Walters (Stoke City) for Keane, Forde (Millwall) for Westwood (all half-time), Gibson (Everton) for Andrews Ward (Wolves) for St Ledger (72 mins).
Referee: Mico Mangiolandi (Pistoia)
