A little too close for comfort

Victory was difficult in the making, but when it came the sense of achievement was deeply satisfying as the Republic of Ireland kept their European Championship challenge on schedule at Lansdowne Road last evening.

All of 65 minutes had passed before abundant Irish possession was converted into the hard currency of a goal in this tense encounter which, for the younger fans, may well have equated with the first day of Leaving Certificate examinations.

Then, as anxiety hardened into raw apprehension and memories of a dozen precedents lingered, Niall Quinn struck the goal which leaves the Irish level on points with Yugoslavia at the top of Group eight, moving into the summer recess.

Peter Milosevski, seldom better than sketchy in Macedonia's goal, flapped at Mark Kennedy's swinging corner and when Gary Breen headed the ball back, Quinn, almost on the goalline, did the rest. It wasn't an act of pure beauty, but when the final calculations are made in the autumn it may well prove to be priceless.

On his arrival back in the dressing-room, the big Sunderland striker had double reason to celebrate. Not only did he score his 18th Ireland goal, but he was given the news that The Bomber Liston, the horse he part-owns, had won at Leopardstown earlier in the evening. It had been a good day.

In summary, it was just a little too close for comfort, never more so than in the 73rd minute when in a swift Macedonian reprisal, Toni Mirevski chipped a shot over Alan Kelly, only to see the ball catch the face of the crossbar.

That was the slim margin of survival at the end, but it ought to be said that in between Robbie Keane struck the base of an upright. Add in two hair-raising escapes for the visitors in a vintage patch for the Irish approaching half-time, and there was little doubt that in the end the better team won.

Before the game Mick McCarthy had warned of the perils of a long period of stalemate and having failed to play their way through a massed defence for 40 frustrating minutes, the frustration on the Irish bench was all too visible as the half-time break approached.

Mark Kinsella, played in by Quinn's knockdown, had a chance of soothing jagged nerves in the 42nd minute only to be denied by Milosevski. Gary Breen's looping header was then taken off the line by Goran Staurevski with the goalkeeper stranded.

That was ominous, but to their credit Ireland never lost either their shape or their mountainous sense of commitment until their persistence was finally rewarded. Now all their options are still viable as they look forward to the resumption of their programme in September.

That Breen should have come close to his fourth international goal was appropriate for nobody identified the competitive qualities of the team more on the night that the tall Coventry player. True, this was by some way the best performance of his international career and should have settled, for the short-term at least, his claims to a regular first team place.

True, it wasn't until Quinn's goal arrived that Macedonia's ambition expanded to the point where they got players forward in support of the tireless Sase Cirik, but when the pressures came Breen's ability in the air and his power in set-piece situations at the other end was convincing enough to stamp him as the best in either side.

Their was also the encouragement of a good performance by Mark Kennedy who vindicated McCarthy's decision to deploy him in the unfamiliar role of right wing. Like many of his team-mates, Kennedy knew moments of frustration in the opening quarter when the opposition did very little wrong.

But Kennedy upped his contribution after the interval when, coming inside Boban Babunski, he arced some tantalising crosses to the six yards area which gave Kinsella and Quinn chances to put the opening score on the board.

Predictably, Roy Keane's influence was sorely missed on occasions in midfield. And yet that is not to understate the contributions of Kinsella and Lee Carsley. There were times in the opening half, however, when the Charlton player failed to man the gap between midfield and the front two.

Yet, he almost got in before half-time and in the opening half hour of the second half he beefed up the attack considerably.

In a game in which competitiveness was everything, Carsley performed well. Strong in the tackle and always available to help hard pressed defenders in the closing stages, he too will have reason to recall this occasion with much relish.

After a couple of promising runs in the first-half, Damien Duff receded to the point where he was replaced by Kevin Kilbane in the second half and with the arrival of the West Brom player, the attack looked more incisive.

Up front, it was all toil and turmoil for Quinn and Keane as they struggled to detach themselves from the abrasive Milan Stojanokski and Staulevski. At times before the break Quinn looked frustrated, but subsequently won a number of aerial duels before coming up with the all important goal.

Keane, as ever, was profligate in his outpouring of energy and was close to the end of his wick when Mcarthy decided to replace him with Tony Cascarino in the 67th minute.

That enabled Cascarino to equal Paul McGrath's record of 83 Ireland appearances, but the goal which would have taken him level with Frank Stapleton at the top of the scoring charts was denied in exasperating fashion in injury-time.

Keane's strength and persistence set up the chance, but in a one on one situation with the goalkeeper, Cscarino saw his effort blocked.

Overall it was a satisfactory night of soccer. Better games there have been at Lansdowne Road, but when the Irish needed to be strong, the response was positive.

Repubic Of Ireland - A Kelly (Sheffield Utd); S Carr (Tottenham), K Cunningham (Wimbledon), G Breen (Coventry), D Irwin (Man Utd), M Kennedy (Wimbledon), L Carsley (Blackburn), M Kinsella (Charlton), D Duff(Blackburn), R Keane (Wolves), N Quinn (Sunderland)

Macedonia - P Milosevski; S Nikolovskim Stojanovski, G Staurevski, T Micevski, V Trajcov, D Sainovski, B Babunski, V Treneski, A Sakiri, S Cirik Substitute - (Mnededan 45) for Trajcov.