Good end to a good day

Republic of Ireland 1 Norway 0When Switzerland won here at Lansdowne Road six months ago the Irish team left the pitch looking like men who knew that a great deal more than a long unbeaten run in competitive games had been surrendered to their visitors.

Ever since that cold October night, they have been talking up their chances of still figuring in the final shake-down for qualification from Group 10, but it probably wasn't until before last night's return to their crumbling home when they heard the news of Russia's defeat in Tbilisi that they actually started to believe it.

Georgia's 1-0 win, of course, makes Ireland's rather shambolic defeat in Moscow look even worse now than it did at the time, but that hardly matters.

Not to Brian Kerr, at least, or the players he sent out last night to face Norway in the certain knowledge that they were firmly back in the hunt for a place in Portugal next summer.

And last night's opponents never really seemed likely to dampen the local players' quietly celebratory mood.

Norway's injury list and the timing of this fixture hardly suggested that Nils Johan Semb's side would provide much of a test, but the almost complete lack of a threat posed by the visiting team still must have come as something of a surprise to Mick McCarthy's successor.

There was a fairly healthy sprinkling of strikers contained in the visiting side's starting line-up, but with John Carew and Stefan Iversen occupying slots either side of a five-man midfield, Austria Vienna's Sigurd Rushefeldt was left very much to his own devices up front where he looked lonely and isolated before being replaced at half-time.

In central midfield, Trond Anderson of Wimbledon rarely succeeded in getting the wide men into threatening positions around the box.

On one of the rare occasions he did manage it, Carew looked set to cut inside Ian Harte but the Leeds defender coped well, stealing the ball away from the huge Valencia player and then guiding it out of the danger area.

In the second half, Carew then managed to find a bit of space for himself inside the six-yard box as Andre Bergdolmo's corner from the left floated in.

The big 23-year-old's flicked header involved little attempt to turn the ball goalwards and so it hopped harmlessly wide.

Tore Andre Flo, on for Rushfeldt at the break, at least got a similar attempt 20 minutes into the half on target, but the Sunderland striker, who hasn't scored for his country in three years, showed the same lack of confidence that has blighted him at club and international level in recent times as he turned the ball into the arms of Nicky Colgan.

Ireland's attacking game, in contrast, was considerably more effective with Kerr addressing his own team's recurring problem of a strikeforce lacking any support from its midfield by placing Damien Duff in the space between the two with David Connolly coming into the team to partner Robbie Keane.

The results were broadly positive with Duff free to wander as he saw fit presenting the Norwegians with a challenge they never quite came to terms with.

Repeatedly, the Blackburn player opened the visitors up with darting runs and more than once he was unlucky not to be left with more to show for his efforts.

He did, of course, get the only goal of the game with 18 minutes played and the speed of his reactions as he scored with a volley after his initial attempt had come quickly back to him off the hand of Christer Basma showed again why he can be such a menace in or around the six-yard box.

Still, a lot of the credit for the strike was due to Steve Carr and Keane whose neat exchange of passes before the full back's fine cross to the far post left the Norwegians scrambling about and helpless to contain the threat.

By half-time, though, Ireland's had seen enough of the ball to have killed the game off with another goal or two.

But they created precious few clearcut chances, with Kevin Kilbane largely ineffective despite all his running on the left, Connolly making little impact up front and Iversen doing enough to keep his Tottenham team-mate Carr back on the other flank.

Mark Kinsella did force a fine reaction stop out of Frode Olsen with a 10-yard volley struck with his back to goal.

But, once again, it was the ease with which the Irish worked their way forward, stringing together more than 20 passes in the move, that was particularly impressive.

During the second period Carr came within inches of grabbing his first international goal in 22 appearances with the right back's short cross from the right being returned to him after which the 26 year-old crashed the ball off the underside of the bar.

For a moment it seemed as if it might have crossed the line, but the Scottish referee was quick to wave play on and the visitors were quick to clear the danger at the second attempt.

After that there was only Keane's low driven shot midway through the half, which Erik Holtan blocked and Lee Carsley then narrowly failed to finish off, for the 32,643 strong crowd to shout about.

IRELAND: Given (Colgan 60); Carr, Harte (Finnan 60), Breen, Dunne, Holland, Duff (Lee 73), Kinsella (Carsley 65), Connelly (Healy 73), Keane (Crowe 90), Kilbane (Quinn 86). Subs Not Used: McPhail, Murphy.

NORWAY: Olsen (Holtan 46); Bergdolmo, Johnsen (Flo 46), Hangeland, Basma (Has 56), Larsen, Carew, Leonhardsen, Rushfeld (Hansen 46), Andersen (Johnsen 90), Iversen (Rudi 64). Subs Not Used: Winsnes, Rudi.

Referee: M McCurry (Scotland).