SOCCER:SCHOOL'S OUT for summer. Giovanni Trapattoni's squad ended its season with another win over World Cup-bound opponents at the RDS last night, thanks to a brave header from Paul Green on his first international start and a second-half brace from captain Robbie Keane.

In a marked contrast to last Tuesday’s game against Paraguay, what was surely a sizeable chunk of the Irish-Algerian community rolled up to Ballsbridge and an hour before kick-off they had commandeered the south end of the ground.

Acutely aware of the injustice suffered by Ireland at the hands of a common foe in November, there was sympathy among the Algeria fans for the plight of their hosts, with one banner proclaiming “Ireland deserve to be at the World Cup”.

After an admittedly weakened side turned in a rather limp performance, those same fans may wonder whether their side should be en route, after Ireland registered their biggest win since beating Denmark 4-0 in Aarhuus in August 2007.

It was bitter-sweet victory, however, considering it is the hosts who will be left to their own devices this summer but it’s time to move on and the manager can do so with some optimism.

Indeed, with expectation, as Trapattoni asserted afterwards.

“We must achieve qualification for Euro 2012,” he said after praising the effort of his players over the last two weeks. “We concluded these 12 days positively and with more knowledge of our squad, our new players, our mentality, performance and order on the pitch

“Against Paraguay and Algeria, sure they were friendly, but it was important to start again with conviction and show we can play against other countries at the same level.”

Trapattoni confirmed he was “very, very happy” with those, like Green and Manchester City’s Greg Cunningham, who sat their entrance exams and acquitted themselves well over the last fortnight,

“We know their quality. They are good players with good personality. They showed us this evening they played without fear and with great personality

“We are very, very happy.

“I told their team-mates to help them but they don’t need any help,” he said, later adding that he did not notice the absentees on account of the newcomers’ performances.

After John O’Shea was withdrawn in the first half with a “little muscle” injury, Darren O’Dea partnered Seán St Ledger in an inexperienced backline that coped well in the face of the physical challenge that met them in the second half especially.

The Celtic man, in particular, threw himself into tackles. It was no surprise to the Italian.

“St Ledger is already a player with us, and O’Dea has experience. We were also without Paul McShane but I wasn’t afraid.”

The captain, too, appears to have been reinvigorated by his brief stay at Celtic, though how the summer pans out for him, in terms of his future at White Hart Lane, will be a concern for Trapattoni.

For now, he, Damien Duff and Kevin Doyle remain the “pillars” of the team. Yet, the next time he assembles his squad, ahead of the FAI’s curtain-raising friendly against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on August 11th, the Italian will have a few more names to consider.

Algeria coach Rabah Saadane certainly thinks so.

The Irish team demonstrated they are a great team, they displayed a lot of cohesiveness in defence and attack, and good luck to them.

Next up for Algeria, a stop off in Nuremberg where they will face the United Arab Emirates on June 4th but it was this meeting which carried more significance for them, given that when the teams met prior to the 1982 World Cup they went on beat West Germany in the finals. If England fall foul of Rabah Suadane’s side in South Africa, they’ll know who to thank.