WORLD CUP QUALIFIER - Rep of Ireland 0 Montenegro 0:ASSUMING IRELAND'S prospective play-off opponents were all represented at Croke Park last night, their spies may have come to two not unreasonable conclusions and the state of the game here: the stadium is a bit on the big side for our needs, and the pool of talent a little too shallow.
A few minutes on the internet this morning and they'll realise the first matter is due to be addressed over the course of next year. The second? Well, that might take a little bit longer.
Giovanni Trapattoni makes little secret of his frustration with the lack of available options but he still made the major changes expected to his side this time out with Damien Duff, Liam Miller, Martin Rowlands and Paul McShane among those coming into the starting line-up. The inclusion of Stephen and Noel Hunt from the outset, meanwhile, made them the first brothers to start a game for the Republic since Dave and Pierce O'Leary against the Netherlands over 29 years ago.
It says something about the occasion that the cheer for Shay Given and Kevin Kilbane as they emerged for their 100th international appearances, was about as raucous as it got over the course of a night on which both performed solidly. The Irish generally had more of the possession but it was the Montenegrins who probably created fractionally the better chances during a game in which the pace only very intermittently rose above pedestrian.
When going forward, the passing of the visitors could be smart enough and when Simon Vukcevic picked up possession 30 metres out and started skipping past defenders it became clear they had at least one player who wasn't afraid to run with the ball.
Richard Dunne put an end to Vukcevic's effort to weave himself into a position from which to have a shot on goal, but neither he nor Sean St Ledger got anywhere near Branko Boskovic when Milan Jovanonic got an angled cross in unchallenged from the left and Given could do no more than watch a header fly narrowly wide.
By that stage Ireland were showing signs of enterprise in attack. Stephen Hunt looked lively during the build-ups and effective from set-pieces while Duff marked his return with a succession of trademark runs. The limitations of playing him on the right were highlighted again, however, when his fellow winger sent him clear with a well-weighted ball through Jovanovic's legs and the Dubliner, on his weaker side, could only hit a tame shot into the side-netting.
In a frantic two-minute spell the Irish then went close three times with Dunne heading a Hunt free off the underside of the crossbar, Duff appealing for handball after his low drive was blocked and Keane firing over on the turn when he might have done better.
Much more disappointing, though, was the fact Rowlands - cursed, it seems, by injuries, whenever his international career appears to be getting out of the blocks - had to be stretchered off five minutes before the interval. The QPR midfielder had performed well, covering a fair bit of ground in the centre of the pitch, looking to break up the Montenegrins' passing and even picking up a booking for a late, slightly lunging challenge that looked a little out of place in such a low-key game. Fortunately, Given, who played the whole game, and the likely starters for next month, were more restrained and there will be no new problems on the suspensions front.
Rowlands, though, will probably be unavailable after having made much more of an impact here than Miller beside him. When the Corkman got caught badly in possession, it was the 30-year-old who got back well to provide the cover, only to go over so awkwardly he couldn't get up again.
John O'Shea replaced him and settled in for a rare appearance in the Irish midfield where he looked pretty comfortable. Behind him, though, the defence was having anxious moments, none more so than when Vukcevic suddenly picked up possession inside the area, dummied his way past St Ledger and then Dunne and finally released a shot that McShane stopped with an outstretched arm. The striker was understandably upset to see the referee press on with the game while the Irish back four looked to dust themselves off and feign composure as their team-mates scurried the ball away.
Towards the end of what remained of a sluggish tie the home side got back on top but Vukasin Poleksic was required to make just one save of note, when Keane aimed a shot across the goal at the bottom left post and the goalkeeper got down well. After that, Duff went close to setting the striker up for a late winner but he misplaced his pass fractionally, Keane couldn't make the adjustment required to take the ball with him and the chance, like the game, simply fizzled out.
Quite what Trapattoni, or those overseas visitors, have learned from the exercise is difficult to gauge. Duff's ability to win free-kicks in dangerous areas still looks to outweigh Liam Lawrence's talent for taking them while Rowland's efforts seem unlikely to count for too much, at least in the short term, even if his injury turns out not to be serious.
The record books will show the top seeds in Group Eight could not beat Ireland but Ireland could not beat the side drawn from Europe's weakest pool. Trapattoni is bound to keep interpreting that fact one way. The manager who ends up preparing a team to come to Dublin next month might well prefer to take a different view.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:Given (Manchester City); McShane (Hull City), Dunne (Aston Villa), St Ledger (Middlesbrough), Kilbane (Hull City); Duff (Fulham), Rowlands (QPR), Miller (Hibernian), S Hunt (Hull City); N Hunt (Reading), Keane (Tottenham Hotspur). Subs: O'Shea (Manchester United) for Rowlands (40 mins), Best (Coventry City) for N Hunt (68 mins), Keogh (Wolverhampton Wanderers) for S Hunt (88 mins).
MONTENEGRO:Poleksic; Zverotic, Basa, Batak, Jovanovic; Drincic, Pekovic, Novakovic, Boskovic; Vukcevic, Delibasic. Subs: Dzudovic for Batak (31 mins), Damjanovic for Delibasic (68 mins), Kascelan for Boskovic (81 mins).
Referee:Vladimir Hrinak (Slovakia).
