Steady ship needed for Islands

The 20-hour delay they encountered, on what was supposed to have been a straightforward flight from Nicosia, over the weekend should ensure the largely part-time footballers from the Faroe Islands will be still a little tired when they take on the Republic of Ireland in this evening's World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road, writes Emmet Malone Soccer correspondent

If things go to plan for Brian Kerr and his men, though, they should also be feeling more than a little dejected before the night is out.

Back at home island hopping is second nature to the Faroese and Saturday's first leg of their week-long tour of Cyprus and Ireland went better than expected with Henrik Larsen's side managing a rare point away from home.

The Irish, however, come into this game on something of a high after proving the equals of France in Paris and it seems unthinkable the home side could be undone by anything other than a terrible bout of complacency.

Kerr has again been tight-lipped about his team selection although when asked yesterday about Gary Doherty's prospects of starting the tone of reply suggested the Norwich City player is in with a strong chance of earning his 29th cap.

A significant factor in deciding the starting line-up will be the fitness of Andy Reid who picked up an ankle injury in training on Monday and had to skip yesterday's final pre-match session at Lansdowne Road.

"We'll wait until tomorrow before making a decision," said Kerr yesterday, "but he's still 60-40 or a little better to play. Hopefully he'll be available but if not then there are a lot of other lads itching to get in."

Kevin Kilbane, John O'Shea and Kenny Cunningham also sat out the tail end of yesterday's session due to minor strains. Kerr insisted all three would be fit to play but should he decide to rest Kilbane then the door could be opened for Matt Holland or Liam Miller while the absence of Cunningham would probably mean a return to the centre of the defence for Gary Breen.

If Doherty does start then the Ireland boss is likely to revert to something very close to the team that beat Cyprus at the start of last month with Duff and Reid, if fit, out on the flanks. If that were the course taken then Steve Finnan would be available, if required, to slot in at left back for O'Shea.

The finer details of the line-up shouldn't really matter all that much. Whichever approach Kerr favours, the home side should be more than good enough to break their visitors down over the course of 90 minutes.

What always would have been a difficult fixture for Larsen and his players is made all the more challenging by the fact a couple of the squad's better players, striker Todi Johnson of FC Copenhagen and Coventry City midfielder Claus Bech Jorgensen, are ruled out by injury.

Johnson has been missing for some time with a knee ligament problem but Jorgensen, a 28-year-old who has had spells at Bradford and Bournemouth, is ruled out by a broken rib sustained after scoring against Cyprus. Had he been fit he would have been one of only a couple of full-timers available to Larsen.

In his absence the team's Danish coach will probably name 10 of the 11 players that started at home to the French last month when the underdogs turned in a highly creditable performance that further undermined confidence within Raymond Domenech's camp.

Jorgensen will be the one missing with Larsen expected to name John Petersen, the man whose two goals against Scotland in 2002 earned his side a draw, instead.

In Torshavn next June they may well give Ireland some problems too but, notwithstanding their 2-2 draw in Cyprus at the weekend when they might actually have won, they tend to pose much less of a threat on the road.

The scale of the defeat in Switzerland, Kerr explained on Monday, was in part due to the heat but some of the defending that day was also distinctly amateurish while the goalkeeper, Jens Knudsen (since replaced by Jakup Mikkelsen), shouldered a good deal of the responsibility too.

If they do not do much better this evening then they should find themselves overwhelmed from early on as the likes of Robbie Keane, in search of his record-breaking 22nd goal for Ireland, Duff and Reid look to run at their defenders from positions around the box.

Failure to open the scoring by half-time could lead to some frustration both on the pitch and in the stands, something Kerr may have had in mind when he appealed on Monday for the crowd to get behind the team but as Cunningham pointed out at the same press conference, they need only to be a goal ahead at the end to take the three points which is the requirement.

A more convincing win would be welcome and might put Ireland top of Group Four until their campaign resumes in the spring.

What seems almost inconceivable, though, is that Kerr's men would follow a performance in Paris that was their best in at least two years with what would, if they are to drop points this evening, have to be their worst in a good deal longer. "Football," suggested Roy Keane yesterday, however, "has a way of kicking you in the teeth if you're not careful."

With that in mind the approach may be more cautious than carefree. Ultimately, though, the result should go smoothly Ireland's way.

PROBABLE TEAMS

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); Carr (Newcastle Utd), O'Brien (Newcastle Utd), Cunningham (Birmingham City), O'Shea (Manchester Utd); Reid (Nottingham Forest), Roy Keane (Manchester Utd), Kilbane (Everton), Duff (Chelsea); Robbie Keane (Tottenham), Doherty (Norwich City).

FAROE ISLANDS: Mikkelsen (KI Klakksvik); Thorsteinsson (TB Tvoryri), Johannesen (TB,Tvoroyil), JR Jaconsen (FREM, Denmark), Olsen (GI, Gota); Borg (HB, Torshavn), J Johnsson (IA Akranes, Iceland), Benhaminsen (FRAM, Iceland), R Jacobsen (HB, Torshavn); Petersen (B36, Torshavn); Frederiksberg (Skala).