Back on track as new talent emerges

SOME FURTHER shoots of encouragement, some disquieting gaps in class, some good things and some bad things emerged from yesterday's meritorious and richly entertaining 2-2 draw with the creative Croatians.

This fledgling, transitional Republic of Ireland team has some way to go yet, but it's on the right track.

Niall Quinn's 88th minute equaliser was fair reward for a spirited 20 minute finale after Croatia had twice taken the lead in the first hall, going ahead either side of a goal for the impressively pacey 20 year old Norwich striker Keith O'Neill on his full debut.

Quinn had only been handed the captain's armband for the first time shortly before kick off. Andy Townsend had ricked his back picking up his boots yesterday morning. Townsend and Ray Houghton are both out of the game against Holland in Rotterdam tomorrow.

And so began a curious old potpourri of a day for the Irish. The beanpole target man forgot the niceties of the day, such as the pre match toss of coin and the exchange of pennants. Having no knowledge of the captaincy that was bestowed upon his son, Niall Quinn's father attended the Wexford Kilkenny match in Croke Park instead.

O'Neill himself gave way to a chest infection at half time, despite pleading with McCarthy, in between splutters, that he was fine. O'Neill looks to be made of the right stuff one respected English paper singling him out as the best young talent in the English First Division this season.

He gave way to Alan Moore in one of six substitutions made by the Irish manager. Only two outfield players finished the game in the position they started it. Yet somehow they gelled together, indeed with increasing effect.

The supportive 29,100 Lansdowne Road crowd took to them as well, as Lansdowne Road has done throughout these sequence of friendlies.

Defensively, it's by no means all there. The home side's retention of the ball and movement off it, paled by comparison with the Croatians. But they stuck with it.

A sure sign that the revolution is now truly upon us came near the end. Alan Kernaghan tried to pass out of defence and inadvertently waved his foot over the ball. The crowd almost laughed.

Then he back tracked to his own byline and did it again, only this time deliberately, before passing short, through two opponents, to Alan McLoughlin. Another cheer. McLoughlin laid it off to Fleming, back it went to McLoughlin and moments at Ireland were attacking through Kennedy up the left.

Suddenly it was catching. Thereafter each pass was cheered loudly, as if Ireland were a continental side protecting a 2-1 lead, not one actually trailing by 2-1. It would never have happened in the old days.

McCarthy detected the moment as well. "I think we're getting there. I think it epitomised it when Alan Kernaghan tried to play it out from the back at the end. Alright, the ball's under his feet and he missed it, but there were players making angles off him and we still managed to play it out.

"Perhaps the Croatians weren't closing us down as much as they could, but they (his players) still did it. .. and we actually ended up having an attack down the left wing. That's the way I want to play and I think it's going alright."

Some of the cognoscenti will take some convincing that we have the players, but at least the players themselves - and the fans - now seem to be as one.

"The fans have been brilliant because under Jack there was a lot of goalmouth action," said Quinn. "We pumped the ball forward and, to the uneducated, it was probably a very exciting way of playing, but the great thing about our fans is that they're patient. Jack mentioned during the week that the Irish fans aren't fickle and that's an understatement . . . (After) the fears of Jack's era ending and how hard it would be to follow that, you can see now that there's, whole new road to go down."

Hail the revolution.