Football: Rep of Ireland 2-3 Poland
divimg alt=”" src=”http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/76810?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Late+flurry+fails+to+mask+first+defeat+for+Trapattoni%27s+Irelandch=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=Football%2CRepublic+of+Ireland+football+team%2CPoland+football+team%2CSportc5=Football+World+Cup%2CNot+commercially+usefulc6=David+Hytnerc7=2008_11_19c8=1120866c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Republic+of+Irelandc13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FRepublic+of+Ireland” width=”1″ height=”1″ //divpGiovanni Trapattoni experienced defeat for the first time as the Republic of Ireland’s manager as his team were second best in too many departments to an attractive Poland./ppThe Italian tried to extract positives such as the lively full debut of the Hull City striker Caleb Folan but the result was written long before the full-time whistle. Ireland conceded early in both halves and they lacked the guile to outmanoeuvre their visitors for whom, on this evidence, positive times lie ahead./ppTrapattoni has made strides since his appointment earlier in the year, instilling resolve and organisation but the quality to affect games at the highest level was missing. The momentum that had been built ahead of crucial World Cup qualifying ties early next year was punctured slightly. /ppTrapattoni does not do friendlies. His only interest is the bottom line of results, and his starting line-up here featured no unenforced changes and as such was the strongest that he could have selected. There had been pleas beforehand for experimentation, the blooding of a few youngsters, yet Trapattoni’s vision is short-term and tunnelled. South Africa in 18 months’ time is his responsibility; the longer-term development of Irish players is further down on his list of priorities. /ppIreland have been criticised for their cagey approach under Trapattoni but the onus was on them to break down Leo Beenhakker’s physical and technically adept Poland team almost from the outset, after they gave away a goal that would give nightmares to any Italian coach. /ppFollowing the concession of a soft free-kick, Caleb Folan failed to stay with Marcin Lewandowski, John O’Shea reacted too slowly and the imposing midfielder rose to glance Lukasz Gargula’s delivery into the corner of the net. Croke Park erupted; the presence of so many of Ireland’s Polish community made this feel almost like a home game for their team. /ppIreland had their chances in the first half, the best ones falling to Damien Duff. Unfortunately, two of them demanded to be hit with his weaker right foot and his hesitancy was apparent, and on the third his composure deserted him after he had jinked inside onto his left foot. /ppThere was a patent lack of creativity in Ireland’s central midfield, which gave further ammunition to those who insist that Andy Reid ought to be in the team, or at the very least on the bench. Further forward, though, Folan was a central figure, catching the eye with his mobility, neat passing and turn of pace while Kevin Doyle, as ever, carried the fight. /ppPoland, for whom Jakub Blaszczykowski dazzled on the right wing, might have added to their lead before the interval but Lewandowski was wide with a free header from a corner and Pawel Brozek was denied by a saving tackle by Dunne, after the Manchester City defender had squandered possession in the first place./ppIt was Beenhakker and not Trapattoni who made changes at half-time and one of them had an immediate impact. Roger Guerreiro took a flick from Gargula seconds before his team-mate was cleaned out by Dunne. He sensed a chance and, from 20 yards, he buried his low drive. /ppPoland had been advertised by Trapattoni as “one of the stronger teams in Europe” and their ability on the ball coupled with their easy movement marked them out. Their other half-time substitute Robert Lewandowski should have made it 3-0 following a slick one-touch move./ppIt was difficult to envisage Poland throwing away the result that they had in their grasp and the match threatened to peter out as Trapattoni made sweeping changes. Ireland went close through two of their substitutes Alex Bruce and Shane Long while Folan continued to threaten. Hunt converted a soft penalty after Tomasz Jodlowiec was adjudged to have fouled Long and after Robert Lewandowski had made it 3-1, Keith Andrews reduced the arrears again for a pulsataing finale. Ultimately, though, Ireland came up short./pdiv style=”float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;”ullia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/republicofireland”Republic of Ireland/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/poland”Poland/a/li/ul/divdiv class=”guRssAdvert”a href=”http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=nldspacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227136186826111923103134088″img src=”http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=nldspacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227136186826111923103134088″ border=”0″ //a/diva href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk”guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href=”http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html”Terms Conditions/a | a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html”More Feeds/a
Original post by David Hytner
Tags: Blooding, Caleb Folan, Football Team, Football World Cup, Guile, H2, Hull City, Ireland Football, Irish Players, Leo Beenhakker, Onus, Outset, Rep Of Ireland, Republic Of Ireland, S Vision, Starting Line, Strides, Striker, Whistle, Youngsters