Midfield lacked penetration of you know who

SOCCER ANALYST:With the midfield pair in holding roles we never got hold of the game to the extent you felt the second goal was one chance away, writes Brian Kerr

AT THIS STAGE in the Republic of Ireland's development any kind of win is acceptable. This was solid stuff. The current group of players have set out their stall in one regard: the set-up now in place will make it very difficult for any side, be it Italy or Bulgaria, to break us down.

Our defensive structure is rigid and the individuals in these roles, and their replacements, are all competent professional footballers.

Despite all the positives on display, when we got the ideal start, there was little sign of our new central midfield pairing dominating the contest as they stayed true to Giovanni Trapattoni's conservative ideals. Basically, they minded the house. They never got involved in the attacking exploits, and left it up to Damien Duff and Aiden McGeady to create opportunities.

Duff immediately exposed the fear of the late replacement at centre back, Lambros Lambrou, when dribbling at him for the opening goal. Lambrou moved out of the way to avoid giving away a penalty. The chip to the back post for Robbie Keane badly exposed the positioning of right back Marios Llia.

The work-rate of our wingers was, again, of the highest standard and their defensive toil didn't hinder their initiative or spark. McGeady switched to the left after a half an hour of Duff tormenting Llia.

You know Damien is nearing peak form when he starts wandering inside. Along with McGeady, he gave a fairly pernickety crowd (maybe only the prawn sandwich brigade can afford tickets these days) enough moments of excellence.

Our best player? Richard Dunne, and it wouldn't be a night out unless Shay Given comes to the rescue at least once.

Our offensive quartet looked to have the better of each Cypriot defender, but the lack of support from Darron Gibson or Glenn Whelan meant they had a fairly comfortable evening once Lambrou was taken off at half-time.

The Ireland midfielders lie so deep we were unlikely to see a repeat of Whelan's goal in Mainz. This left it up to the movement and guile of the four in front of them to break Cyprus down.

Nevertheless, Gibson was very steady in his first international start. I remember the first time I saw him, dominating the midfield for the Northern Ireland under-15s against our lot in the AUL. I was delighted to hear from his family soon after that he wished to play for the Republic.

The fact that Alex Ferguson has not loaned him out this season indicates the high regard at Manchester United, keeping with the views of all the Irish underage staff since 2003.

His passing was economical; he never gave away possession and looked comfortable with the pace. He certainly matched what was put in front of him.

The midfield pair sat in holding roles all night, with no sign of the penetration you-know-who brings to the party. We never got hold of the contest to the extent that you felt the second goal was one chance away - until late on when Duff, McGeady and Doyle found chances when Cyprus threw caution to the wind.

But this is the Trapattoni way. It doesn't look likely to change any time soon. Sorry, Andy, but it is working.

It helped that the Cypriots played a basic four-four-two formation. This made them easier to contain and our defence looked solid in the face of most attacks, even if there was, undeniably, a distribution problem at right back.

We know Paul McShane is not a full back, but he looked suspect in the one-to-one situation out wide. It's not a major issue as he was a stop gap for the injured Steve Finnan.

McShane's lack of balance didn't warrant splitting up the growing relationship of Richard Dunne and John O'Shea. He was a centre back doing a job at right back last night.

We have mentioned the incessant work-rate Trapattoni demands of his players and this came to the fore on two particular occasions in the opening 45 minutes.

First, Keane, with Duff cleverly running off him, saw a good chance for a shot open up in front of him. It was easily gathered by Antonis Giorgallidis, but it was what Robbie did immediately after that really impressed. Without missing a beat he turned and tracked the right winger, to cover for Duff, denying a break out.

Kevin Doyle performed a similar task soon after when he got between the centre and full back to stop a move up the Irish right wing. He got his tackle in too.

Strikers flying after defenders speaks volumes for the current attitude. It might tire them when it comes to finding dangerous positions, but it was still an effective team contribution.

Cyprus proved their inflated reputation as a result of previous encounters against us was more a sign of our deficiencies than any genuine quality on their part. They exposed some of those old flaws with that late chance. However, they remain an average team and should be dispensed with accordingly at Croke Park.

Although there were worrying moments, the industry and six-man defensive line, allied with a general commitment to the shape, ensured break-away attacks were practically non-existent.

Despite the late wobble and failure to finish them off in the last few minutes of madness near the Cypriot goal, Ireland survived and move on to tougher days with a renewed confidence.