Keane doubtful for Faroes game

Soccer/ World Cup qualifiers: Andy O'Brien will miss Wednesday's World Cup qualifying game against the Faroe Islands in Torshavn after FIFA rejected an appeal by the FAI yesterday against the red card he was shown in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Israel.

Robbie Keane is also considered a major doubt after bruising both the bone and tendons in his shoulder early on in Saturday's game, but the Tottenham striker is expected to travel and a final decision on whether he is capable of playing may not be taken until close to kick-off on Wednesday.

The news that O'Brien must serve the automatic suspension that follows a sending off came last night at the end of a dismal weekend for manager Brian Kerr and his players, who travel to the Faroes needing to pick themselves up after what may well prove to be an extremely costly blunder against the Israelis.

The game was the Republic's 94th competitive match at home, and only once previously had the hosts managed to squander a two-goal lead.

It had happened at Dalymount Park back in 1983 when Gary Waddock and Liam Brady put Ireland two up against the Dutch, only for Ruud Gullit to score twice and Marco van Basten once to earn the visitors a 2-3 victory. This time the record books, at least, will show that it was Avi Yehiel and Avi Nimny who were responsible for the comeback, but it is unlikely their names will have quite such a glorious ring in two decades.

But the Irish had only themselves to blame for the way they first allowed the Israelis to come from behind and then for their failure to score late on during a hectic spell of pressure that yielded a string of clear-cut scoring opportunities.

"We've made it a lot harder for ourselves," conceded a dejected Kerr. "We have four games left and we can still qualify, but we'll have to beat the French and Switzerland at home, before which we have to go and beat the Faroe Islands.

"We're still in control of our own destiny but, yeah, it's looking like a much harder task now."

He was "baffled" by his team's failure to score in the second half and questioned a number of the referee's decisions, but acknowledged the determination with which the Israelis had battled their way to a draw that keeps them firmly in the hunt for a top-two finish.

"I wouldn't say our lads are deflated after it," he said, "but clearly there was a lot of disappointment in the dressingroom afterwards. It's the role of the staff now to lift them again, though, to remind them of the possibilities that are still there.

"We've made it more difficult for ourselves, but of course we're still in there with a chance, we've won two home games and nobody's won a critical match between the big teams."

Kerr is at least boosted by the return from suspension of Roy Keane and Steve Carr for Wednesday's game. Both are expected to start with John O'Shea possibly moving to centre half in place of O'Brien.

The loss of Robbie Keane, though, would be a significant blow in a game against a side that has been difficult to break down and which gave the Swiss a bit of a fright at the weekend. The striker had an MRI scan yesterday, after which Kerr said that it had revealed "that there was no fracture but there was some tendon and bone bruising in the shoulder".

In the case of O'Brien, the FAI are likely to fight against the player being banned for more than one match given that he was sent off on Saturday for violent conduct. There is confidence, however, within the association that television footage of the evidence clearly shows Israeli goalkeeper Dudu Aouate, rather than the Irish centre half, to be the guilty party, so the hope is the 25-year-old will be available for all of the Republic's qualifiers in the autumn.

The FAI, meanwhile, has emphatically denied a story broadcast yesterday by the Israeli Sports Channel which reported that Aouate had been hit by a bottle thrown at him by an Irish supporter as he entered the team hotel after the game.

The station claimed to have filmed the incident and passed footage of it on to the Garda. It was also stated that the FAI's chief executive, John Delaney, had subsequently visited the team hotel in order to apologise for the incident.

A spokesman for the association confirmed last night that an incident had been reported by the Israelis to the Garda, but said that ice, rather than a bottle, had been thrown at the goalkeeper. In response to a report that the Israeli FA would be reporting their Irish counterparts to FIFA over the incident, he said security at the hotel was a matter for the visiting association to organise and oversee, and that they had been assisted in this regard in any way requested by the host organisation.