Poland Ireland - posts match analysis
Irish find plenty in reserve for tougher tests to come
NO wonder Brian Kerr wore a broad smile at the end of Wednesday night's friendly against Poland.
For the last few months the Ireland manager has talked about expanding the pool of players available to him ahead of the World Cup qualification campaign.
After the game in Bydgoszcz, Kerr now has a pot of 37 names with international caps who can step into the breach while the likes of Dean Kiely, Gary Kelly and Lee Carsley are known to be welcome should they decide to return to the fray. In addition, there's at least half a dozen players bubbling under the radar, like Tottenham's Stephen Kelly and Coventry's Michael Doyle.
Ireland's 10-game schedule over a 13-month period from next September will feature four double fixtures where the side must play two games over a five-day period.
Kerr's big fear is that injuries and suspensions could deplete his squad and he wants to be able to quickly draft in players who are familiar with his methods. He certainly got a dry run this week for the type of meltdown scenario that could unfold during the campaign.
Before he sat down to select his original squad he had to cross the names of Graham Kavanagh, Steve Finnan, Stephen McPhail, Richard Dunne and Colin Healy off his list because they were unavailable through injury.
He was still able to select a strong 24-man squad that included the returning Roy Keane, but then lost 11 of them - including Keane - over the space of seven days.
Kerr's mobile phone was working overtime all weekend as he checked on players' fitness and chased club managers for permission to bring in reinforcements.
By the time he took the team for training on Tuesday morning in Bydgoszcz, he was down to 19 players with only four members in the group holding more than 25 caps while seven others had never started a game for Ireland, including the three uncapped players.
A poll on the Polish FA website before the game revealed that 77 per cent of respondents felt a home win was on the cards while, back in Ireland, Paddy Power allowed Kerr's side to drift out from 13/8 to 7/4 when they heard the team.
Although the Poles had the bulk of the possession during the 90 minutes, the Irish produced an excellent defensive performance that restricted the home side to just two long-range shots and one header on target.
As a coach you are aware of your team's strengths and limitations going into any game and Kerr knew that his relatively inexperienced side was up against a Polish side almost at full strength.
He was rightly delighted at the defensive performance and the way in which the side kept their shape under pressure. Every time Poland got the ball there were at least nine Irish players behind the ball and the discipline needed to cover runs was always there.
The one downside was that Ireland were a blunt attacking force and failed to find the target at all during the game. Clinton Morrison and Alan Lee worked hard, as did Graham Barrett when he came on, but they never got the service needed to create chances.
Andy Reid tried hard to make things happen but the game showed once again the importance of Damien Duff, a player well capable of producing the moment of magic necessary to unhinge a well-organised team like Poland.
Two of Ireland's first three qualifying games next autumn are away to Switzerland and France and will be massive tests of the squad's World Cup credentials.
In that respect Bydgoszcz was a excellent mock examination and the Irish passed it with flying colours.
"There is mental attitude, a mental toughness involved in playing the away games that you have to perform well and get the result. I think the players who have played in the underage stuff understand that," said Kerr.
Three of the next four friendlies are away from Lansdowne Road and even the Romania game on May 28 has become a formidable test following their 5-1 win over Germany on Wednesday.
Kerr is likely to use the Nigeria and Jamaica games to give the younger members of the squad another opportunity to gain valuable international experience as well as continuing to experiment with the versatility of his players.
This flexibility is necessary because of the small pool at his disposal and he is getting there, although there are one or two positions where he is still vulnerable.
There are really only two candidates for left back - John O'Shea and Ian Harte - although Alan Maybury and Kevin Kilbane could possibly be utilised if necessary.
Up front is also a problem area. Morrison and Robbie Keane are the manager's preferred option and it's too early to pass judgement on Lee. The Cardiff City player deserves a few starts before any firm decisions are made.
Shelbourne's Jason Byrne also deserves another chance as he is a proven goalscorer and if Notts County's Paul Heffernan moves to the Premiership and joins Bolton Wanderers he too will move into the frame.
It is indicative of the changes that have occurred over the past two years that Kerr's current strongest XI shows six changes from the side fielded by Mick McCarthy in his last game in charge against Switzerland in October 2002.
And that gives plenty of hope for those eager to force their way into the team by September 4.
CURRENT STRONGEST XI - Given; Carr, O'Brien, Cunningham, O'Shea; A Reid, Roy Keane, Kilbane, Duff; Morrison, Robbie Keane.
