Republic of Ireland 2 USA 1
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| Mark Kinsella expresses his delight having opened the scoring in the sixth minute. Gary Doherty struck in the 82nd minute for an Irish victory (© Inpho) |
Gary Doherty staked his claim for a ticket to Japan by heading a late winner for Ireland over the United States at Lansdowne Road tonight.
The twenty-two year old Donegal man had played less than twenty minutes first-team football since breaking his leg last September, when he capped a dream return to international action by heading home a Steve Staunton free-kick in the 82nd minute.
On an evening of relentless rain and disjointed football, Mark Kinsella had given the homeside the lead in only the sixth minute, but Ireland were made to fight for their victory after American centre-back Eddie Pope equalised in the 34th.
American boss Bruce Arena won’t be pleased by the ease with which the homeside cantered through his backline to open the scoring, but Mick McCarthy can only have been chuffed by the fluidity of the move.
Kinsella gained possession deep in the visitor’s half, squared the ball to Rory Delap, who quickly slipped it out to the overlapping Steve Finnan. Finnan clipped the ball into the centre where the unmarked Kinsella fired an acrobatic volley past keeper Brad Friedel into the top corner of the net.
Irish fans immediately sensed slaughter, but America’s great young hope, Clint Mathis of the New Jersey Metrostars, warned against complacency when, in the eighth minute, he almost beat Shay Given with a tremendous drive from over 35 yards.
The treacherous surface meant Ireland often didn’t bother attempting to run through the opposition and instead opted for probing long passes. One such pass from Kevin Kilbane in the 26th minute found Robbie Keane, who bamboozled defender Tony Sanneh before swinging a fine cross into the centre for Kinsella, but this time the Dubliner flashed his header wide.
Three minutes later, Keane the Younger was again the tormentor. Dropping deep to claim possession, he twisted past two US players and threaded the ball through the centre for Damien Duff to rush onto. Duff, however, was beaten to the ball by the on-rushing Friedel, his Blackburn team-mate.
The US, orchestrated by the always reliable Reyna, tackled with gusto and passed neatly, but their play was predictable and they didn’t look like penetrating the Irish defences. In the 34th minute, however, they grabbed an equaliser.
Brian McBride won a corner which was knocked into the centre by John O’Brien. It should have been a routine clearance for Ireland, but Delap allowed himself to be outjumped by Eddie Pope, who butted a powerful low header past Given.
That boosted American confidence and they began to attack with greater purpose, but for the remainder of the first half neither side was able to form a seamless move.
Both managers made several substitutions at half-time and that contributed to a fairly listless second period. Robbie Keane continued to thrill with some tricky touches, and Delap busily went about atoning for his crucial first-half lapse, but both sides all-too-frequently failed to find the final ball.
As the second half trudged along, it seemed the sides were set to share the evening’s meagre spoils. But then Doherty, who came on in place of captain-for-the-night Gary Breen in the 70th minute, strode to the fore, grabbing the headlines - and perhaps a trip to Asia?