INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Republic of Ireland v Australia: Venue: Thomond Park Kick-off: Tonight, 7.45pm On TV: Sky Sports 2; RTÉ Two (highlights, 10.20pm):IF TONIGHT'S game at Thomond Park finishes with something like a 3-0 scoreline to either side, expect it to become a pub quiz classic in a decade or two.
Otherwise, this encounter between one side that has already qualified for the 2010 World Cup and one that retains serious hopes of making it to South Africa is unlikely to achieve much more than footnote status in the history books.
That might just change, of course, if one of the handful of players being handed opportunities to impress steals the show but Giovanni Trapattoni has long since shown himself to be a man inclined towards evolution rather than revolution while his Dutch counterpart, Pim Verbeek, did not sound like a man in experimental mode either yesterday.
The Republic of Ireland, as had been suggested more or less since the first players arrived in Tipperary at the weekend, will field a strong team with the only significant doubt last night surrounding the identity of Glenn Whelan’s partner in central midfield.
Keith Andrews, who has occupied the role in the team’s last three qualifiers, was actually named there again when Trapattoni was asked for the line-up at his afternoon press conference.
But the veteran coach returned to the subject a little later when he suggested he might start Darron Gibson instead. Twenty minutes later, the way the Irish lined out in the early part of their training session at the Limerick stadium tended to suggest that the Manchester United midfielder will be handed the opportunity to nick back the place he lost in the spring.
Trapattoni cautioned against reading too much about his plans for Cyprus into his selection on this occasion but Liam Brady had certainly been of the opinion 24 hours earlier that there will not be too much difference between the two line-ups at the outset of the games.
On the face of it Stephen Hunt looks to be the other significant loser with the midfielder dropped to make way for Aiden McGeady after starting in Sofia. The Celtic winger’s greater range of attacking play had always appeared to give him an edge on this occasion, though, and the manager played down the level of disruption caused by Hunt’s day-long absence from the camp in order to complete his move to Hull City.
In other areas, the aim this evening will be to continue the process of broadening options. Seán St Ledger will start and is certainly considered a serious contender to retain his place in Nicosia next month while Eddie Nolan and Liam Lawrence look a good bet to enter the fray at some stage.
Of perhaps more immediate concern is the ongoing recuperation of Blackburn’s Steven Reid who played 45 minutes of a friendly game for his club against Wrexham on Monday, apparently without any adverse reaction.
Trapattoni gave the impression of being pretty much in the dark as to when the player might be available to him again. He did say he had been in touch by text message although on a day when even his official translator, Manuela Spinelli, was left looking a little perplexed by some of the linguistic tangents the manager embarked upon, it seemed possible that Reid is simply still figuring out how best to reply.
In any case, Italy in October looks like a more realistic target for the 28-year-old but Cyprus next month has yet to be formally ruled out. Clinton Morrison, on the other hand, may be waiting a little longer again for a recall after Trapattoni was asked whether he had considered bringing him back.
A very long answer followed at the end of which we were certain only of the fact that Trapattoni views the former Crystal Palace and Birmingham City striker as being more like Kevin Doyle than Robbie Keane. The best moment, though, came when the Italian observed that; “Clinton is different,” and Keane, seated beside him at the top table, briefly exploded into laughter.
With a place in South Africa still very much up for grabs, a victory tonight can help to generate much needed momentum for Ireland’s final qualification push.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Manchester City); O'Shea (Manchester Utd), Dunne (Manchester City), St Ledger (Preston NE), Kilbane (Hull City); Duff (Newcastle Utd), Gibson (Manchester Utd), Whelan (Stoke City), McGeady (Celtic); Doyle (Wolves), Keane (Tottenham).
AUSTRALIA: Schwarzer (Fulham); Williams (Middlesbrough), North (Incheon Utd), Kisnorbo (Leeds Utd), Carney (Sheffield Utd); Jedinak (Genclerbirligi), Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow); Bresciano (Palermo), Cahill (Everton), Kewell (Galatasaray); McDonald (Celtic).
Referee: Alfonso Perez Burrull(Spain).
