Top spot still the goal, says McCarthy

Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy conceded yesterday that Portugal were now in the strongest position of the three Group Two contenders to qualify for next year's World Cup finals but insisted that his side would push their rivals all the way to October's final round of matches.

"I think the Portuguese will get 24 points while we've got 15 with nine to play for. In other words we've got to win all three games now but if we can win on Wednesday then I think we can manage that."

In the event that both sides did finish level, then goal difference from all of the games played would decide which team tops the group. Currently Ireland's goal difference is four better than that of their rivals but McCarthy accepted that given that they are due to play Cyprus twice as well as Estonia and Andorra, that will probably change.

"All we can do for the moment is concentrate on winning our games," he said, "but if we end up getting 24 points but lose out on goal difference then I'd still have to say that that's not a bad day's work because we'll have come through the group unbeaten and we'll be in the play-offs."

McCarthy confirmed that Matt Holland will play on Wednesday night in place of Roy Keane who is suspended after receiving his second booking of the campaign.

"Roy's a huge loss," said the Ireland manager, "any team in the world would miss him and we certainly will but Mattie and Mark have coped before and so we'll just have to get on with it."

Damien Duff and Steve Carr both received treatment yesterday for minor injuries (groin and ankle respectively) but it is expected that the pair will both be available in time for Wednesday's match. Gary Breen, however, is ruled out due to a hernia that will require surgery.

Breen's absence means that Steve Staunton is set to make a record 89th appearance for the Republic on Wednesday, although McCarthy said yesterday that he will not make his mind up on the team to play in Tallinn until after he has heard a report on, and seen a video of, Estonia's remarkable 4-2 defeat by Holland.

The main point of interest will be whether Damien Duff, who looked particularly impressive after coming on after an hour against the Portuguese, will get a start next time out. McCarthy admitted that Duff had done much to stake his claim but insisted that he had been happy with everybody's performances while noting that Robbie Keane, who looked sluggish, "will be a lot better for the hard 60 minutes he got".

The Portuguese, meanwhile, left Dublin over the weekend with their various complaints against their hosts still unresolved. The FAI's contention that blocks of tickets, initially sold by their counterparts in Lisbon, had found their way into the hands of London agencies appeared justified on Saturday when up to 1,000 Irish supporters watched the match from the north terrace.

The bad feeling generated by the row prompted senior officials of the visiting association to boycott the traditional match-day lunch, a move which FAI general secretary Brendan Menton last night described as "unheard of in international football".

And after refusing to shake hands with Mick McCarthy at the end of the game, Portuguese coach Antonio Oliveira refused to speak with the Irish media at the post-match press conference because, his spokesman said, of what he felt had been biased and unfair reporting during the build up to the game.

Menton says that the FAI will now compile a report on the ticketing issue which will be sent to the Portuguese and, almost certainly FIFA. "The FIFA representative was certainly aware of the problem but I think that the important issue is that a considerable number of Irish supporters ended up paying far above face value for tickets."

Not quite every Portuguese visitor went home unhappy. Legendary star Eusebio, who had been forced to intervene in the heated dispute between the managers, subsequently acquired a prized souvenir of the occasion when he dropped into the Irish dressing-room and asked for Roy Keane's jersey.