The crowd was surprisingly small, the weather unexpectedly
chilly, but the scoreboard never really looked like showing a shock. Ireland steam-rolled their hosts tonight, with captain Roy Keane celebrating his 50th cap with two powerfully-taken goals.
It was a pleasing day too for Gary Kelly, who struck his first goal for Ireland in 8 years, and also had the pleasure of watching his nephew, Ian Harte, score from the penalty spot.Overall, the 4,000 visiting fans had plenty to cheer about.
Cyprus began sprightly, with Marios Constantinous’s running and sharpness seeming to justify rumours he’s Juventus-bound; the home fans certainly had high hope for him as they sprung to their feet in anticipation every time he touched the ball.
In the eighth minute, Gary Breen climbed on the back of Constantinou, giving the Cypritos a free-kick on the edge of the Irish area.Ioannis Okkas directed straight into the hands of Shay Given.Moments late Given gave us an indication of his confidence when he daintily side-stepped Constantinou to clear.
Ireland’s first notable chance came when a quickly-taken free-kick enabled Mark Kinsella to then go close with a low drive which whizzed just past the post.But that, along with a neat piece of trickery by David Connolly, was about as inspired as Ireland got in a tight opening 20 minutes.
On 25 minutes, Connolly, perhaps proving he is a fitting replacement for Niall Quinn, headed down to Kilbane in the box, but the Sunderland man’s shot was deflected over the bar for a corner.
Connolly had a lively evening up front, displaying neat skills and linking well with Robbie Keane.He had a chance to openthe scoring for Ireland after half an hour when Cypriot goalkeepeer Nikos Panayiatou punched a cross out to him on the edge of the box, but he blasted a curling shot wide of the post.Just a couple of minutes later, the Feyenoord forward teed up Roy Keane, but again the long-range shot whistled wide.
Keane, however, proved more ruthless in the thirty-second minute.Kelly burst down the right flank and drove to the bye-line before cleverly cutting the ball back across the box to his captain.And from 11 yards out, Keane crashed a low volley into the back of the net to commemorate his 50th cap for his country with his sixth goal.
Ten minutes later, the visitors were given the chance to increase their lead, when George Theodotou, unable to contend with Kevin Kilbane’s pace, hacked the Irishman down, leaving the Belgian referee with no option but to award a penalty.Ian Harte stepped up to take the spot-kick, and directed a low left-footer into the corner of the net as the keeper dived the other way.
Suspicions that Cyprus would then roll over and die were, however, groundless.They abandoned their 5-man defensive system, reverting instead to a more attacking 4-4-2.
Indeed, had Gary Kelly not headed two Constantinou shots off the line not once, but twice in the dying minutes of the half, the Irish dressing room would have been a considerably tenser place to be at half-time.
Ireland dominated possession in the second half, and had several chances to pull further ahead before Kelly’s 76th minute blast.In the 63rd minute, Connolly sent Robbie Keane racing clear of the defence.As Panayiotou ran to meet him, Keane clipped the ball over the goalkeeper but just inches wide.
Three minutes later, it was the turn of the Cypriots to have a free run at goal.Kenny Cunningham slipped allowed Okkas to surge through unhindered.
As Breen came to cover, Okkas squared the ball to Constantinou, but Cyprus’s best-loved player drew angry barricking from the crowd by shooting straight at Given, who blocked with a minimum of fuss.
That miss became even more costly in the 76th minute, when Kelly picked up the ball at the corner of the Cypriot box and arrowedhis shot into the top right-hand corner of the goal.
Then, in the final minute of the game, Roy Keane capped another masterful performance by robbed Marios Christodoulou at the edge of the Cypriot 6-yard box and blasted the ball past Panayiotou and in off the near post.