Long making big strides

Soccer:There is nothing like a man-of-the-match performance for confidence and one senses that will be the biggest the fillip Shane Lone will take from his outing against Uruguay.

The Reading striker has put in good shifts in his 18 caps prior to last night’s 3-2 friendly defeat by World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay, but this was different. This time he was on his own up front, in an inexperienced side against a notoriously tough three-man defence.

“They came fourth in the World Cup, so they are a very good side," Long said. “One of the lads said nine of the players who started in the semi-final played again last night, so they are obviously a quality side.

“They had two good centre-backs, so it was a big learning curve for me. I am learning every day and 90 minutes every week is helping me progress. Last night is only going to add to that.

“They were good defenders. They knew what they were doing and could buy a foul as well, so it was a bit tough up there. But I gave as good as I got and I would like to think I caused them a bit of trouble.”

It was Long who dragged Ireland back into the match against Uruguay when, with the South Americans leading through Diego Lugano’s 12th-minute strike, he headed home a Liam Lawrence cross to level within three minutes. But the visitors were not to be denied, and cool finishes from Edinson Cavani and Abel Hernandez gave them a 3-1 advantage at the break.

However, Long flexed his muscles once again within three minutes of the restart, bursting free down the right before pulling the ball back towards the onrushing James McCarthy and Andy Keogh, who were both felled by defender Martin Caceres.

Keith Fahey duly obliged from the spot, but a spirited fightback came up just short.

“There were a lot of new debuts out there and a lot of third and fourth caps, and it was a big performance from all of them, no one did themselves any harm," Long added. “We are just disappointed with the result. We played very good football and could have got two or three more.

“We can hold our heads high and learn from it — but we would have preferred a result as well.”

Long admits he has benefited from being a regular in the Reading starting line-up this season, and his 18 Championship goals to date are testament to his blossoming potency.

His international emergence is something that will not have gone unnoticed by a series of Premier League clubs as they plan their summer recruitment drives, but he will not allow himself to be carried away.

Skipper Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle were both missing last night. With the Wolves striker recovering from the medial ligament damage he suffered against Macedonia at the weekend - he is expected to be sidelined for between four and eight weeks - there could be more opportunities for the man who has established himself as third in line.

But even if Doyle is not fully fit by the time the Republic head for Skopje and their return clash with Macedonia on June 4th, Long insists he cannot afford to take anything for granted.

“There’s Robbie, Kevin and myself going for that position, but there’s also Leon Best and Jon Walters and Anthony Stokes and Andy Keogh. There is a long list of strikers trying to get in there, so every chance you get, you have got to try to take it, and I would like to think I did myself no harm.”