Injury forces Evans to make on change

THERE were no real surprises from Ireland's Under 21 manager, Ian Evans, yesterday as he opted to stick with as much of the team that beat Macedonia 4-0 last month as possible for this evening match against Iceland.

With Bournemouth's Owen Coll injured Evans was obliged to make at least one change and he has limited his reshuffle to bringing in Willie Boland for the injured man. The Coventry City player will slot into the side's midfield with Gavin O'Toole reverting to central defence.

"It's a pity about Owen because I thought he did well in the last game. In fact, I was impressed with the whole central defensive unit because we had a lot of possession - against Macedonia but the lads had to be alert to the chances of counter attacks but I thought that they dealt with anything that came their way very well."

Overall, Evans feels that the team is capable of taking a step closer to qualification although he confesses to not knowing what he should expect from this evening's opposition.

"I haven't seen them and I don't - really know anything about what has gone on elsewhere in the group - but I'm not too worried about that. ,There was too much that I wanted them to do without filling their heads full of stuff about their striker being a bit of a Pele or whatever.

"I don't want them worrying about any of that sort of stuff. First and foremost, they set a standard for themselves last time and now I just want to see them go out and live up to that standard."

Given that the Macedonians had started their campaign in this group by beating Iceland 3-0 in Ryeykjavik, this match would appear to be something of a formality but Evans remains cautious about his side's prospects and he will be anxious to see his most experienced players, Gareth Farrelly, Steve Carr and team captain Mark Kennedy impose themselves on the proceedings from early on.