McCarthy puts faith in Keane for final push

Robbie Keane was yesterday identified as one of the key men as Mick McCarthy put in place the match plan which he hopes will deliver the Republic of Ireland to the finals of the European championship with a win over Macedonia at Skopje this evening.

After nominating the teenager to join Niall Quinn up front in a 4-4-2 formation, McCarthy spoke at length on the qualities which in the space of little more than a year have established him as a pivotal member of the team and which now promise to push Ireland safely across the qualification line.

"He provides that something extra, the little touches that so many others don't have," he said. "He has the ability to do things that can change games, like a flick or a twist or even a dribble. And, of course, he has the wonderful knack of sticking the ball in the net. "There is also the fact that he gets such a buzz from playing for Ireland. We've all heard the stories about how he stood on the terraces as a kid wishing he could play for the team.

"He can sing all the World Cup songs, knows all the words. I mean, he was a genuine supporter who, more than anything else, wanted to wear the green shirt. Now he's fulfilled his dream and shouldn't we all be grateful?"

More than ever, the need is urgent as Ireland seek to disguise the loss of Roy Keane, their most influential player, and exact retribution for the defeat which ended their World Cup hopes in this same stadium two years ago. Macedonia, perceived originally as a team with the potential to upset any of the three countries seeded ahead of them in the group, have not as yet given substance to that rating.

Yet, with new coach Dragon Kanatlarovski and a new agenda aimed at shifting the balance of sporting power in the Balkans in the next World Cup, they are not short of motivation in a fixture which ordinarily might have been dismissed as an end-of-programme chore.

The Irish manager held no surprises when he announced his team after a morning training session. Mark Kinsella will be joined by Alan McLoughlin in central midfield, with Gary Kelly and Mark Kennedy operating on either side of them. Kennedy's preference over Kevin Kilbane probably occasioned some anguish for the manager, but in the end he came down on the side of experience.

"Kilbane has done well for us in recent games, but at this level he's not as experienced as Mark Kennedy," he said. "I recall Kennedy doing well in the World Cup play-off against Belgium and while we're not comparing like with like, this match has much the same requirements as that one in Brussels.

"Kennedy is now undoubtedly playing the best football of his career and with Gary Kelly on the opposite flank, I think we have now got the right balance across the middle." After stating he would not mention the name of the missing Manchester United star, McCarthy had occasion to backtrack in elaborating on the reasons for Kelly's return for what is undoubtedly his most important assignment since recovering from a career threatening injury.

"Roy Keane is the best in the world doing the job he does and to that extent it's difficult to over-state his loss to the team," he said. "But Gary, playing wide on the right, will help us to cope. Rather than play two specialist wingers I felt we needed the extra defensive qualities that Gary will bring to the team. "That is not to alter our match plan of going out to win the game. He is, of course, an excellent defender. But he also gets forward, attacks full backs and is capable of providing the crosses to exploit the ability of Niall Quinn and Robbie Keane in the penalty area."

If there is a question mark over the selection it stands against the complementary qualities of Kinsella and McLoughlin, two players who are happiest when going forward. Neither has a proven track record in tracking back and that could present problems for Kenny Cunningham and Gary Breen in the centre of the defence.

Questioned on the point, McCarthy was less than convincing, offering the opinion that Kinsella and McLoughlin would adjust to the flow of the game, defending when necessary and yet prepared to support the front players.

Denis Irwin, as ever, promises to be a stabilising influence in defence. On the opposite flank Steve Staunton may have a point to prove after feeling harshly treated in the criticism of some of his more recent performances at international level. Macedonia, for all their protestations to the contrary, are the weakest of the Balkin nations and it scarcely helps their cause that established central defenders Mitko Stojkovski and Igor Nikolovski are among the six players ruled out by injury.

Kanatlarovski, determined to make as much capital as possible from the defections, announced yesterday his casualty list had risen to 10 players, occasioning some raised eyebrows in the process from some of the Irish management team.

Among those certain to play, however, is Nuremberg striker Sasa Siric, a man who has scored seven times in his 18 international appearances and he may be the one to cause Ireland's biggest headaches.

It threatens to be another of those evenings when the plot will play on the nerves and the countdown to the finish will be as long and as tense as ever .

But if Ireland keep their shape and their composure and McLoughlin and Kinsella blend as hoped at the fulcrum of the team, we may have reason to celebrate another joyful football occasion.