Ireland 1-1 Portugal
A fantastically boisterous Lansdowne Road crowd this afternoon bore witness to a full-blooded performance and skilful match between two teams who ended up sharing the points.The goals came from each country’s proudest asset.Roy Keane, who picked up a booking which rules him out of Wednesday’s clash in Estonia, fired Ireland into a 68th minute lead, before Luis Figo pulled Portugal level in the 79th.
Tackles came crunching in from the kick-off, with Mark Kinsella and Roy Keane leading their Irish team-mates in ferocious fashion.Even Steve Staunton, selected at centre-back in place of the injured Gary Breen in what must surely be one of the biggest gambles of Mick McCarthy’s management, won early acclaim from the fans for the uncompromising felling of Luis Figo.
Staunton, however, didn’t look so assured moments later, when Figo wriggled easily clear of him and flashed a low left-footer just wide of Given’s post.
In the ninth minute, Staunton again looked uncertain when ballooned a clearance straight up in the air, leaving Given to rush out of his goal to challenge Pauleta.Fortunately for Ireland, the Portuguese striker fouled the keeper before any punishment could be administered.
As Ireland looked jittery at the back, the visitors settled into an attacking stride with Figo stationed wide on the right and Pedro Barbosa on the left, and even Rui Costa pushing on at times to join Pauleta in the centre. Ireland, though, were not being outclassed and continued to battle with purpose. Robbie Keane looking nippy up front and Niall Quinn’s massive bulk proving a real burden for Rui Jorge, Beto, who war scampering between midfield and defence, and one of Portugal’s three debutants, Boavista’s Nuno Frechaut.
In the 16th minute, Figo again drew gasps from the crowd, when his 30 yard free-kick flew just over the Irish bar.
In the 22nd minute, Gary Kelly spotted a superb Steve Carr run down the right and slipped the ball in behind Barbosa for the full-back to latch onto.Carr picked it up and drove into the box, but his shot was to be disappointingly tame.
Just moments later, the Irish team stimulated even more vociferous roaring from the home fans when they launched their first bout of sustained attacking.Kevin Kilbane began delivering crosses before Roy Keane released his name-sake Robbie on a run through the centre that should have culminated in a dangerous shot.But the younger Keane dithered, allowing Portuguese defenders to engulf him.The Leeds lad retained possession, though, and was able to bring Kinsella Carr into the play.He found Kinsella on the right, who crossed into the six-yard box, where Roy Keane planted a firm header straight at ‘keeper Ricardo.
Then, on the half-hour mark, the excitement switched to the other end.Rui Costa embarked on a twisting run from the middle, no Irish player seemed to what to approach him until the crowd demanded action, whereupon Richard Dunne fell over, Staunton missed his tackle, and Given, mercifully, sprinted from his line to finally end Rui Costa’s run.
Two minutes later, Rui Costa went even closer.After more defensive slackness from Ireland, Pauleta knocked the ball back for the Fiorentina midfielder to crash a 25 yard shot off upright.He was then, unbelievably, able to gather the rebound, and shoot straight at Given.Quinn and Roy Keane issued furious bollickings to the Irish defence.The crowd just prayed Ireland could survive the sudden upping of the tempo.
Given produced a spectacular save from another Pauleta shot, again from outside the box, and Ireland were hanging on.
In the 41st minute, Portugal again scythed through Ireland with ridiculous ease.They cantered through the middle, before the ball was rolled to Barbosa down the left.He cut the ball back to the Irish penalty-spot where Pauleta stood completely unmarked.Again, though, the Irish goal survived, as the Bordeaux striker fired the ball over the bar.
Just before half-time, Figo drew the scorn of the crowd when he hurled himself to the floor after a challenge by Ian Harte, who earlier this week accused the Real Madrid man of being a serial diver.Harte tried to drag him to his feet, but Figo insisted on leaving the pitch for attention ... before returning ten seconds later.
Ireland finished the first half with Roy Keane getting booked and, therefore, suspended for Wednesday's game in Estonia.But as they awaited the return of the teams for the second half,Lansdowne locals asked only one question:what can Mick McCarthy do to stabilise Ireland’s defence?
The answer, as it turned out, was nothing.But that wasn’t necessarily going to matter because, thoughPortugal continued to look like scoring nearly every time they burst forward, Ireland too, frequently looked menacing.The excitement was sure to rage on.
Two minutes after the resumption, Figo, for about the sixth time in the match, found enough space to line up a shot from distance, thistime electing to curl the ball past Given and, though this probably wasn’t part of his plan, narrowly over the bar.
Three minute later, however, Ireland nearly broke the deadlock.Carr found Roy Keane with a long throw into the box, and the captain trapped on his knee before dinking it back for Kinsella to rasp one towards the top corner. Goalkeeper Ricardo, another of the Boavista new-boys, soared across his goal to tip it wide.
Portugal immediately ripped forward and would have cut straight through to the goal until Roy Keane, having steamed back 80 yards, saved the day with a typically heroic tackle.
At the stroke of 60 minutes, Ireland again worked an opportunity to threaten Ricardo.Kinsella barged through the centre and found Quinn, who flicked the ball neatly over the full-back’s head to Robbie Keane.From the edge of the box, Keane forced a good save from the keeper.
That was to be Keane’s last action on the pitch as he was replaced by Damien Duff immediately afterwards.Duff made a devastating first impression. Picking the ball up from Gary Kelly, he skipped past Figo, cut inside another, and charged towards the box until Rui Jorge hacked him down to earn the most obvious yellow card of the day.
One minute later, Duff was on the rampage again.Scorching down the left, he fired a low cross into the centre which Jorge Costa almost diverted into his own goal.Kelly followed up to blast the ball wide for a goal-kick.
Then Staunton almost grabbed the headlines.Harte curled in a free-kick from the right, and the Villa veteran climbed highest to head the ball just wide.
Then:orgasmic joy!Kelly battled down the right and chipped a cross into Roy Keane.The captain didn’t make the firmest of connections, but he got enough meat on the ball to direct it past the wrong-footed Ricardo.1-0 Ireland and delirium in the stands!
Portugal reacted by throwing on Porto’s Nuno Capucho instead of Barbosa who had been largely nullified in the second half by Carr, and Jao Pinto instead of full-back Rui Jorge.
Mick McCarthy then brought on Matt Holland instead of a visibly tiring Quinn, and spread five across the middle in a bid to stonewall any Portuguese come-back.
Portugal pegged Ireland way back, and the Irish tackling had to be tough and precise, particularly on Figo who had suddenly returned to the for.
In the 79th minute, Portugal got the dreaded equaliser, when Figo turned up at the back-post to head home a Rui Costa Rui Costa cross.
McCarthy instantly reverted to 4-4-2, introducing Gary Doherty instead of Kinsella.
But Portugal poured forward relentlessly, cheered on by their now jubilant fans.Except, that is, the 86th minute, when Kilbane won a free-kick on the edge of the Portuguese area.Up stepped Roy Keane to rifle the ball into the wall and then loft the rebound onto Duff’s head.Duff couldn’t steer it towards goal.
With three minutes to go, Portugal declared their intention to take all three points.They withdrew defender Carlos Litos, and threw on Fulham striker, Luis Boa Morte.
But, after four minutes injury time, the referee brought an end to a pulsating afternoon's entertainment.Both these sides deserve to be at next year's World Cup.