Now on 12 points, just two behind group leaders Italy, the Irish looked to be set to finish in second place at worst which will guarantee them a play-off. Their next game is against Bulgaria in Sofia in early June, then they travel to Cyprus in September, before finishing qualification with home matches against Italy and Montenegro in October.
In a roller-coaster opening in Bari, Italy had Giampaolo Pazzini harshly sent off after a clash with John O’Shea after just four minutes, but then the reigning world champions went in front with a goal in the 11th minute from Vincenzo Iaquinta.
Ireland manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, back on his home territory, responded quickly by sending on striker Caleb Folan in place of Andy Keogh in an effort to exploit his side’s numerical advantage.
Without the services of the injured Damien Duff and Aiden McGeady, the Irish predictably struggled to unlock the Italian defense, however, Keane eventually struck after an assist from Folan, and the captain could then have won the game in injury time, but he blasted a close-range shot over the bar.
If Italy played poorly, this was still a vitally important result for Trapattoni following the disappointing 1-1 draw with Bulgaria at Croke Park. “The manager showed what a great coach he is when he made the changes early after the sending off,” said Shay Given. “Other managers would maybe have waited until the second half, but he did after 15 or 20 minutes, changed the system, changed the team. The whole team was set up to attack, that shows you what knowledge he has.”
As for the veteran Italian, Trapattoni said he was happy that his team was still unbeaten. “After it went 1-0, it was very difficult to score because Italy are famous for being the best defenders in the world. Maybe we could have played better because normally with 11 against 10 you can put them under more pressure, but we still haven’t lost. To stay unbeaten here in Italy, it shows that everything is possible.”