Irish escape with draw

And on one level they are. A 3-0 home vicTory over Cyprus, and a 1-1 draw away to Switzerland last Wednesday offer hope for the game against France in Paris on Oct. 9. However, Cyprus were a shambolic outfit without tactical nous or intent, while the result against the Swiss lacked the usual optimism that comes with a draw on the road.
In truth, Switzerland were a pale shadow of the team that knocked the Irish out of the qualifying race for the European Championship finals earlier this summer, and without coming over all arrogant, Brian Kerr’s side probably should have won in Basel last week.
“It wasn’t revenge as such, but we’re very happy with a point,” Kerr said. “We said we’d settle for four points from our first two games in the group and we’ve struggled against Switzerland in recent games.”
A goal ahead in the early stages courtesy of a pinpoint Damien Duff cross and Clinton Morrison’s excellent header, Ireland promptly proceeded to surrender the advantage and within minutes the Swiss were level.
Equally, to hold on for the rest of the game was no great achievement as the Swiss defense was as porous as some of their famous cheeses. Where it was reasonable to expect Ireland to create chances, they were mostly lacking cohesion and any strategy.
Despite a share of the points, the defensive organization was suspect with Kenny Cunningham and Andy O’Brien still struggling to establish a working partnership in the center, while both fullbacks Stephen Carr and Steve Finnan were unconvincing.
Deployed in central midfield, where a more aware Graham Kavanagh would surely have been a better choice, Kevin Kilbane gave the ball away far too often. Andy Reid, who had been the star turn in the win over Cyprus, made little or no impact, and both Robbie Keane and Morrison failed to impress. The fact that goalkeeper Shay Given, with four outstanding saves, emerged as man of the match said much about the Irish display.
To compound the general uncertainty, the returning Roy Keane was singularly unimpressive, especially during the first half. He was more effective after halftime, establishing a presence in front of the defense, but the overall sense that Keane’s rehabilitation somehow represents an Irish passport to those World Cup finals is wide of the mark. More than two years after he played his last competitive international game, the wear and tear of injuries and age are beginning to kick in.
On the plus side, Roy Keane himself, Robbie Keane and Duff, who have all had recent injury problems, should be sharper by the time of the France game, and both Matt Holland and John O’Shea, who missed the draw in Basel, should be fit again.
Also, France have not recovered any of their sparkle following a disastrous European Championship and Patrick Vieira is suspended for the visit of the Irish. It’s far from perfect in the Kerr camp, but this might just be a good time to be playing the French.