McCarthy gives new spirit of adventure its ultimate test

As the Atlantic crashed against the ancient fortifications of the hotel where the Irish team have been based over the past few days, it seemed as though the FAI and their travel agents were attempting to aim a few subliminal messages at Mick McCarthy's men ahead of tonight's World Cup qualifier at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon.

It's eight games since Portugal conceded a goal at Benfica's massive home, and so the prospect of Ireland managing to score here seems even more daunting than it did a month ago in Amsterdam.

The Ireland coach has, thankfully, stuck with the side which has already shown itself capable of producing surprises in that department. To keep an inventive and sometimes quite magical Portugal at bay will be the true test, however.

McCarthy has made no secret of the fact that another point would leave him "thrilled". Yesterday, Portugal's coach, Antonio Oliveira, expressed a great deal of confidence that Ireland will not get even that. The evidence is stacked in his favour, as more illustrious names than Ireland have been brushed aside by his players at Euro 2000. The Republic's failure ever to avoid defeat on Portuguese soil is not too inspiring either.

If Oliveira is to be proven wrong, then Ireland will have to match the Dutch performance in every department and, quite possibly, exceed it at the heart of defence.

Given their inexperience and peripheral status at club level, what Gary Breen and Richard Dunne achieved against Louis van Gaal's men was little short of astonishing. But it remains painfully difficult to see them pulling it off again against the likes of Figo, Rui Costa and Joao Pinto.

When Breen spoke on Thursday about the pair being lucky the game was taking place at a time when they were still benefiting from tough pre-season programmes, you got a hint of the scale of the problem.

McCarthy maintains that the pair will receive protection from all around them, but made the point that "they got that in Amsterdam, too, and it didn't help Dunne in the last minute when he had to win the ball from Kluivert. He had to do that for himself and he coped because of the skill he has". With no genuine alternatives, we can but hope he is right.

At least the manager has moved away from the defensive approach that caused his centre backs so many problems in the big away games of the last campaign. The positive brand of 4-4-2 employed so successfully in recent times at Lansdowne Road suits his men when they're on the road as well.

The Amsterdam result has reinforced his faith in the switch to a more positive approach. That is to be welcomed, which is more than can be said for his assessment on Thursday of our general form away from home of late.

Citing his team's performances since the 1-0 defeat to Croatia, McCarthy proudly pointed to a "seven-match unbeaten run away from home". The reality is that the three games in the US can be discounted and only Amsterdam ranks as a good performance.

There was certainly little to be proud of in Malta where, while the points were won, it took a late free from Steve Staunton to stave off humiliation, nor in Skopje, where a clumsily conceded equaliser in injury-time cost Ireland automatic qualification for Euro 2000. And in Bursa, where the game ended goal-less, it was Turkey rather than Ireland who got precisely what they needed to play competitive summer football.

The good news, though, is that tonight in Lisbon the only result of the lot that matters is last month's. At the Amsterdam Arena, McCarthy's team finally looked as though they believed they could win away from home. If the same sort of spirit is shown against Portugal, then the Group Two surprises just might continue.

Republic Of Ireland: Kelly (Blackburn); Carr (Tottenham), Breen (Coventry), Dunne (Everton), Harte (Leeds United); McAteer (Blackburn), Roy Keane (Manchester Utd), Kinsella (Charlton Ath), Kilbane (Sunderland); Quinn (Sunderland), Robbie Keane (Inter Milan).

Portugal (possible): Quim (Braga); Secretario (Porto), Jorge Costa (Porto), Fernando Couto (Lazio), Dimas (Sporting); Vidigal (Napoli), Bino (Sporting); Figo (Real Madrid), Rui Costa (Fiorentina), Joao Pinto (Sporting); Sa Pinto (Sporting).

Kick-Off: 21.00. ON TV: Network Two.