Rep of Ireland 2 Georgia1:THE SEQUENCE of the goals at Croke Park last night may make this narrow victory seem a little sweeter than the one in Mainz, where Ireland beat the same opponents by a similar score. The manner of the win, though, strengthened the suspicion that the Republic's proximity to Italy in the qualifying table has more to do with the sequence of the games than any transformation of this team under Giovanni Trapattoni.
The Italian had said on Tuesday he would be happy with a win regardless of the performance, and, thanks to two second-half goals from Robbie Keane, he got his three points.
Still, that the Irish had to chase the game after conceding early on, and only got back on level terms with such lowly-ranked opposition thanks to the gift of an undeserved penalty, must have tried his patience.
True, the Irish showed character and determination in the second half as they set about saving themselves from humiliation, and there were a couple of positives, primarily Aiden McGeady’s best display for his country.
But Trapattoni, having also said on Tuesday that he prays his big players will be fit for each game, will have woken this morning to the realisation that things have reached the stage where he can barely afford to be without Paul McShane.
Before the game, Keane had been among those to identify the late concession of goals as a problem the team needed to address. This time, though, they lasted just 48 seconds before handing their visitors the lead. Stephen Kelly was the most culpable of the handful of bystanders as Ucha Lobjanidze sent in an angled cross for David Siradze to flick on unchallenged towards the far post, where Alexander Iashvili arrived on cue to poke home.
A half-full Croke Park fell into a stunned silence, and an immediate reaction was required if the crowd were to be reassured. Instead, another Kelly error allowed Iashvili a second crack at goal with Shay Given this time required to push the shot behind.
The home side then started to play, but while they may have shaded the rest of the half they scarcely looked a class above their visitors. There were plenty of attempts at invention as the locals sought to open up well-organised and industrious opponents, but the final ball was rarely right. And the number of mistakes made in possession, as well as a general lack of authority in central midfield, meant the Georgians looked well capable of stealing a second.
Out wide, Damien Duff had his moments, but McGeady consistently posed the more direct threat. A neat bit of work by the Celtic winger just over midway through the half helped set up Keith Andrews for what, briefly, looked to be a deflected equaliser, but Doyle’s presence on Kaladze’s shoulder as the defender turned the ball past his goalkeeper was enough to justify the offside flag.
McGeady tested Giorgi Lomaia properly for the first time when the 22-year-old forced a decent stop from the goalkeeper with a low, 25-yard shot after an impressive run of more than twice that distance.
As if to make a point, though, Hector Cuper’s men headed straight for the other end where Levan Kobiashvili, after a neat lay-off by Luka Razmadze, drew a similarly fine stop from Given.
Shortly afterwards, the departure of the teams for the break was met with a smattering of boos, but when play resumed there was a clear sense from the outset that the home side were intent on raising the tempo.
After a couple of near-misses, most notably McGeady’s curling shot into the side-netting, and one or two frantic scrambles, it arrived with more than a little help from the Finnish referee. When the bulk of those watching followed the play and saw Keane given offside by the linesman 72 minutes in, it out turned that Jouni Hyytia had already awarded Ireland a penalty as a result of the ball grazing the top of Lobjanidze’s shoulder when Doyle played it forward. It might go down as the softest spot kick given here at Croke Park.
Keane, though, didn’t complain, and stepped up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way.
And better followed six minutes later when he fought off David Kvirhvelia to meet a McGeady corner with a rare headed attempt on goal that Levan Khmaladze couldn’t quite keep out.
IRELAND:Given (Manchester City); Kelly (Stoke City), Dunne (Manchester City), O'Shea (Manchester United), Kilbane (Hull City); McGeady (Celtic), Whelan (Stoke City), Andrews (Blackburn Rovers), Duff (Newcastle United, K Hunt, Reading 80); Keane (Tottenham Hotspur), Doyle (Reading). Subs not used: Kiely, Delaney, Foley, Keogh, Gibson, N Hunt. Booked: Andrews.
GEORGIA:Lomaia; Lobjanidze, Khishinishvili, Kaladze, Kvirkvelia; Gotsiridze (Merebashvilli 67), Razmadze, Menteshashvili (Khmaladze 70), Kobiashvili; Siradze (Aleksidze 77), Iashvili. Subs not used: Kvaskhvadze, Kvakhadze, Odikadze, Martsvaladze. Booked: Menteshashvili, Lobjanidze, Kvirkvelia, Kobiashvili, Khizanishvili.
Referee:Jouni Hyytia (Finland).
