Sterner test but we should be good enough

SOCCER ANALYST:IN GIOVANNI Trapattoni's mind there is probably little reason to change the starting XI against Georgia, but this evening will be a tougher examination of the mental fortitude of the Republic of Ireland, Brian Kerr

The tactical challenge will also be more demanding than what the negative Georgians brought to Mainz and while Shay Given can always be relied upon, the defensive unit must stand firm and retain high concentration levels when the inevitable pressure comes on. All four players are hugely experienced but now they need to exude more leadership qualities and calmness that will inevitably influence those in front of them. They also need to ensure a steady supply of accurate distribution.

If we see all this from our back four the midfield's greatest challenge to date will be significantly less daunting. The potential to expose our use of out-and-out wide men in Aiden McGeady and Stephen Hunt is genuine with the speedy, interchanging Montenegro midfield. I expect us to be outnumbered five to four at times in this department, as happened against the Georgians when, in fairness, we coped admirably.

If we do begin to be overrun in the middle it becomes imperative that one of the front two, probably Robbie Keane, drops back to assist.

In possession, Hunt and McGeady bring an incisive dribbling option but this would be more effective if interspersed with some early delivery to the strikers. Both wingers' natural running approach invites fouls from which I presume Trapattoni will try to encourage a better return from set-pieces.

The opportunity to exploit the Montenegro three-man defensive system will be available, particularly in spaces to the right and left of the centre backs. Both Kevin Doyle and Keane perform effectively when running into such positions and some decent diagonal service could provide our best chance of scoring.

Either way, both men will profit from earlier balls into them.

Montenegro were an integral part of the footballing success of the former Yugoslavia, which includes third place at the 1930 World Cup and reaching the quarter-finals at Italy '90. One only has to look at the dramatic progress made by Serbia before they split with Montenegro two years ago to realise we go into battle with a true, albeit fledgling, football nation.

In contrast to the tame atmosphere encountered last Saturday on neutral soil, we can expect a much tougher examination of our mettle in Podgorica tonight. The stadium may house only 12,000 but the local passion will surely be more like the real thing in a new nation that once dwelled behind the Iron Curtain.

To digress briefly, Ireland played a match against Yugoslavia in 1955 when Dr John Charles McQuaid called on the public to boycott the game because the visitors were communists! The power of the then Archbishop of Dublin is incomparable to any public figure today and while there were protesters, Dalymount Park hosted an attendance of over 20,000.

Our major concern looks set to be the temperature, which could still be in the 30s by kick-off. This could have been dealt with before agreeing the match schedule at the fixtures meeting, before Trapattoni's appointment, but there is little to be done now regarding acclimatisation. It requires a minimum of five days for any valuable adaptation to warmer conditions to have any effect. With such an extensive expertise now available in the backroom the team will be well hydrated before the game and that every opportunity for rehydration will be availed of once the game begins.

What we can do is learn from Scotland's defeat to Macedonia in similar conditions last Saturday. They struggled badly in the first half of what appeared to be an attempt to slow the game's tempo and conserve energy.

Sadly for them, Macedonia weren't having any of it and bullied the Scots out of the game. They then failed to rescue the situation once it got desperate.

Several of our players have spoken of Trapattoni's tactical desire to retain possession for longer periods and slow the frantic nature associated with British football. It is vital we don't follow the Scots' example this evening by dropping our tempo to survive the conditions. Otherwise, we could end up playing into our opponents' hands.

Zoran Filitovic's team will want to adopt a high-speed attacking game to continue impressing their supporters who have become accustomed to high-scoring games and positive results at home in their short history.

The strength of the Montenegrins lies in their attacking energy and the technical skills of Dragan Bogavec, Mirko Vacinic of Roma and 18-year-old Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina. Vacinic and Jovetic scored against Bulgaria at the weekend and will threaten again here.

Once again, the key to a good Irish performance, apart from a sound defensive display, will be the ability of Glenn Whelan to control and dominate possession. Along with Steven Reid, he performed very well against Norway and Georgia only to noticeably fade for spells in the second half. This will be a sterner test.

We should be good enough to get the campaign off to a perfect start, providing we show the lesson of conceding late, costly goals has been learned. Here's hoping.