Soccer shorts

RTÉ's coverage of Tuesday night's Roy Keane testimonial game at Old Trafford attracted a record television audience for a game of its type, some 460,000 tuning in to watch the Corkman's farewell to Manchester United and their supporters, writes Emmet Malone.

The number of viewers actually peaked at some 711,000 shortly before the end of the game, giving the station a 52.1 per cent share of the available viewers at the time. RTÉ's head of television sport, Glen Killane, said he was "delighted" with the numbers that had tuned in.

Women test champions

Germany 1 Republic of Ireland 0

The Irish women's side produced a heroic performance in Cottbuss in yesterday's World Cup qualifier to restrict European champions Germany to the narrowest of victories.

The hosts scored after only two minutes but Ireland regrouped and threatened the shock result of the year when Edel Malone almost converted a cross for an equaliser in the second half.

To put the Republic's display in context, the Germans have won all of their qualification games in the series so far by at least four goals. The match was watched by 12,000 spectators and Ireland had Arsenal goalkeeper Emma Byrne to thank for several saves.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: E Byrne, E O'Connor, S Boyle, M Curtin, A Moran, S Hughes, C Grant, D Caldwell, E Malone, M O'Brien, O O'Toole. Subs: E Griffin for Malone (65 mins), A O'Gorman for O'Toole (85 mins).

Shepherd criticises LMA

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd launched a broadside at his critics after winning dispensation to appoint Glenn Roeder as his new manager.

Shepherd was celebrating after receiving permission from his fellow chairmen to install the 50-year-old despite his lack of a Fifa Pro Licence.

However, as he celebrated getting the man he wants, Shepherd was quick to return fire after the League Managers' Association, which had opposed his bid for dispensation, issued a critical statement.

"I am very unhappy at some of the comments coming from the LMA in recent weeks," said Shepherd. "Glenn himself was a member of the LMA while at West Ham, and is about to begin the Pro Licence course again, so I find it both disappointing and surprising they should take such a stance."

Givens confident

Despite the loss of a string of experienced players over the past 10 days, Don Givens remained confident last night that the team he has named for this evening's Under-21 European Championship play-off game against Azerbaijan in Baku is strong enough to secure a good result, writes Emmet Malone.

Of the 11 starters, Willo Flood of Manchester City, Celtic's Aiden McGeady and Alex Bruce of Birmingham have played first-team football with top-flight British clubs over the past year, while UCD goalkeeper Darren Quigley, Cork's Roy O'Donovan and Paul Keegan of Drogheda United have proven themselves at home.

The hosts, however, remain something of an unknown quantity, while Givens expressed concern at the state of the pitch after his squad trained on it yesterday.

"The surface is not in the best condition," said Givens, "but I expected that and it's an obstacle we'll just have to overcome. The fact is that I've no worries about the players' ability to get a result. There is plenty of quality in the team."

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Quigley (UCD); Foley (Luton), Keogh (Bristol City), Bruce (Birmingham), Painter (Birmingham); Keegan (Drogheda Utd), Flood (Man City), Timlin (Fulham); O'Donovan (Cork City), Keogh (Scunthorpe), McGeady (Celtic).

Referees in demand

Irish match officials have fared well in the most recent round of postings from Uefa, with Alan Kelly from Cork and Dublin's Ian Stokes being handed high-profile friendly games during the build-up to next month's World Cup.

Kelly will take charge of the game between France and Denmark on May 31st in Lens, where he will be assisted by Eddie Foley and Barry McDonnell. Stokes will be accompanied by Martin Moloney and Ciarán Delaney to Zurich on June 3rd when Switzerland take on China.

Sweden's Martin Ingvarsson, meanwhile, has been named as referee for Ireland's friendly game against Chile in Lansdowne Road.