McCarthy makes just two changes

If ever there was a game to have an international manager counting his chickens then it's surely this evening's World Cup Group Two qualifier between Andorra and Ireland at Barcelona's mini-stadium, a 15,000 capacity reserve team ground that sits in the shadows of the Nou Camp.

Ireland go into the game having gone nine away games without a defeat, Andorra have never won a competitive match anywhere at all and, to add insult to injury, the home side is missing two of its most important players. Mick McCarthy's side may, of course, cause themselves a few problems as they've done before but recent history suggests that there is not too much cause for concern on that front.

The team McCarthy named yesterday showed two changes to the side that so unconvincingly beat Cyprus by such a healthy margin at the weekend. Out went Jason McAteer and Mark Kinsella, in came Damien Duff and Matt Holland.

The manager declined to criticise anybody but explained beforehand that some might lose out because of their lack of first team action back in England recently while others had been doing well enough there to have a strong claim.

That pretty much covered the two switches and might have justified another couple. Even allowing for the fact that he has not been in the Blackburn side for a while, however, there is also a strong suspicion that McAteer's consistent inconsistency is what has finally handed a chance to a clubmate who on current form looks capable of making the place his own.

The Andorrans, of course, should be pretty much powerless to prevent the Irish completing the six point haul they set out to acquire. Indeed, their already slim chances of holding out for a point - their manager David Rodrigo has made it abundantly clear that that is what they will play for - have been severely dented by the loss of two of their best players. Goalkeeper Kilko Alvarez will be absent tonight because of a cruciate ligament injury that will also keep him out of the Dublin game while striker Juli Sanchez misses out due to suspension.

Andorra, even at the best of times, look to get men behind the ball. Ian Evans, who saw them last year suggested that if they played their matches in just one half of the pitch, "they'd probably win a few quite comfortably".

Without Sanchez's ability to run at defenders - the 22 year-old forced Jaap Stam into a couple of rash challenges at the weekend when the Dutch centre back was fortunate to receive only one yellow card - it is simply impossible to see how they might pose any sort of counterattacking threat. Then there is the fact that Alvarez's replacement will be earning only his fourth international cap and will be selected despite having been completely out his depth on Saturday night. McCarthy's hope will be that, having been overwhelmed by the Dutch then, he and his team-mates will manage even less resistance this evening.

In the circumstances the Ireland boss could probably be forgiven for allowing his mind to wander a little over the course of tonight when he will also be waiting for word from Porto of the Group Two match between Portugal and Holland. Yesterday, however, he insisted that he was still a little undecided as to what outcome he would prefer in that game, pointing that those who favour another Portuguese win are effectively conceding that Ireland will not top the group.

"The bottom line," he concluded, "is that I believe the most important thing is to ensure you go about your own business in the right way. There's a danger that you'll disappear up your own backside if you start getting into too much of that stuff about what other teams might do. If we'd won in Macedonia we'd have qualified for Euro 2000 but we didn't so what I'm concerned about here right now is us winning against Andorra."

Anything less, he knows, would simply be unthinkable.