'I think we controlled the game very well'

SOCCER: MANAGERS' REACTION:AFTER A sombre enough post-match press conference Mirsad Jonuz drifted back to the Macedonia dressing room where, in light of his mood, you feared he was informing his goalkeeper that he was a complete blockhead. At the same time Giovanni Trapattoni was listing his reasons to be cheerful, parts one, two – and three. Contrasting moods, you could say.

While the language barrier means you can only take a stab at guessing these things, relations between Jonuz and the visiting press appeared to be a touch strained. “If you think there is a better solution for the job, a better coach than me, then go ahead, make a suggestion,” he said, through his translator, in a ‘bring it on’ kind of way.

Nobody brought it on, the challenge met by silence, the visitors seemingly deciding not to kick the fella when he was down. It was a generosity Jonuz opted not to extend to Edin Nuredinoski.

“Ireland deserved the victory, but they scored two goals from our mistakes,” he said. “There were two mistakes by our goalkeeper which cost us the result,” he added, just in case his point wasn’t clear enough. “The mistakes from our goalkeeper directed the result tonight,” he repeated.

Still, though, he was confident the return game in June would be a whole different ball game. “Our players are motivated and expect to win the game in Skopje against Ireland and stay in the race for qualification,” he said. “Will Nuredinoski be in goal for that game,” no one asked, there just didn’t seem any need.

Keiren Westwood’s manager was somewhat more pleased with his performance, not least with that save from Ivan Trickovski 15 minutes from time, one that averted – not to overstate it – the cataclysmic dropping of two points. “As I told you before, I have complete confidence in Westwood,” Trapattoni croaked, his voice possibly having hit breaking point the time he respectfully requested that the officials allow substitute Shane Long join the fray.

“I have three reasons to be very, very happy. You understand?” Yes. “Good. One: Three points. Second: The performance of the team overall and some specific players in particular. And the third – and equally important: The choice of players like (Darren) O’Dea, (Darron) Gibson and (Kevin) Foley always raised questions, I was always asked why do you choose him over the other. I’ve always been told that Foley is a defensive player, he is not attacking enough, and tonight he proved the opposite. It is a reason to be happy. I’m happy about my choices.”

Which specific players impressed him? “(Aiden) McGeady was the best player on the pitch. He has improved his performance and personality, he’s very self-confident. The first shot at goal, I think maybe a year ago he wouldn’t have done it. I always believed he could do it. I said the same thing to Gibson. We have players who have extraordinary potential, but they are not aware yet of their potential. It is up to us to give them this trust, this self-confidence.”

Another reason to be cheerful, the end of the James ‘will-he-won’t-he-play-for-us’ McCarthy saga. Had Trapattoni any doubts about bringing him on when the game was far from settled? “No. We had good balance with Gibson and (Glen) Whelan. I wanted to put James in a situation where, in a way, he could choose his own role on the pitch because he doesn’t necessarily play a specific role. It is about finding the right position for James. We have to put him in a situation where he is comfortable playing. If you want to give young players the opportunity to grow you have to ease them in and help them.

“He can play left, he can play behind the strikers, he can play also midfield, like he does sometimes with his club. But his club is Wigan, it is not the Irish team, you see their position in the table, very, very different teams. Playing with a team down the table in England is very different,” he said.

McCarthy, he said, is likely to start against Uruguay tomorrow, but Kevin Doyle, he fears, won’t kick a ball again for a couple of months. “It’s a medial ligament injury, very serious. But I hope by May or June, he can come back and we can have him for the match in Macedonia.”

Trapattoni, though, found yet “another reason to be happy”. “Obviously our performance was made slightly easier by the goal right at the beginning, but I think we controlled the game very well. We had many chances and we could have scored at least one or two more goals.

“I always explain to them the difference between a show and the result. And we have to be able to understand when it’s time to do a show and when it’s time to get a result. We had moments tonight when we showed great personality, we moved the ball around. This shows the team has grown in self-belief and in self-confidence.

“The group is very, very balanced. It’s a pity we missed a penalty against Slovakia. It’s a pity Macedonia missed a penalty against Russia. We would have been alone at the top. But football is also about mistakes.”

No doubt it was a point poor old Edin Nuredinoski was trying to explain to Mirsad Jonuz back in the Macedonia dressing room. Deaf ears, you fear.