Updated at 12.08
1. Doyle reminds us of his worth
WITH HIS FUTURE uncertain and another season with Wolves a possibility, not for the first time, the issue of whether Kevin Doyle deserves such a prominent role in the Irish team is open to debate.
However, Doyle tends to invariably perform well for his country even when his club form is patchy and reminds us of his worth when it’s imperative to do so — the World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan, when he played an integral role in helping Ireland to narrowly avert an embarrassing loss was a prime example, as was last night.
Doyle took his goal brilliantly, producing an unstoppable header to give Ireland the lead early on.
It was a pertinent reminder to those ready to write the Wexford native off that he is certainly still worth having in the squad, if not necessarily the first XI, on a regular basis.
2. Costa Rica won’t go far at the World Cup
Costa Rica aren’t expected to get past the World Cup first round, given that they feature in a group with Uruguay, Italy and England, and on last night’s evidence, this is a fair assumption to make.
Even before they were reduced to 10 men, they didn’t look especially threatening against a weakened Irish team (aside from Forde, Marc Wilson and arguably Robbie Keane, it’s unlikely any of the other players who started in Philidelphia would make Martin O’Neill’s first-choice XI).
Having gone a man down following Giancarlo Gonzalez’s sending off, they were inevitably weaker as the game developed, and were fortunate to earn a draw as Patrick Pemberton saved Robbie Keane’s 66th-minute spot kick in impressive fashion.
Nevertheless, they do possess at least one player who Roy Hodgson and co will have to be wary of — Arsenal’s on-loan Olympiakos star Joel Campbell perpetually caused Ireland and in particular stand-in left-back James McClean problems.
It was Campbell’s incisive through pass that led to Costa Rica winning a penalty, while the youngster constantly looked a lively presence in an otherwise quite ordinary team.
3. Forde mistake proves costly
David Forde will not want to watch the highlights of yesterday’s game anytime soon. He looked nervy early on, flapping ineffectually at hopeful crosses into the box, and it was primarily his error that led to Ireland’s concession of a second-half goal.
As Bryan Ruiz collected Campbell’s through pass, Forde dived recklessly at his feet and brought the Fulham forward down.
It was a needless challenge from the Millwall goalkeeper, as his opponent was unlikely to score from a very tight angle had he not been impeded.
Although he has produced some fine saves as well in recent matches, Forde was also culpable for more than one key goal during Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
The 34-year-old needs to cut such sloppy errors out of his game promptly, or Ireland will need to look for an alternative stopper sooner rather than later.
4. Goalscoring still a problem for this Irish team
Ireland’s goalscoring record under Trap was notoriously paltry, and that unfortunate trend seems to have continued into the Martin O’Neill era.
Since O’Neill’s opening 3-0 win over Latvia, the Irish team have failed to score more than once in any of the five games that have followed.
Aside from Keane and Doyle, the Irish team that started last night, had scored just five goals between them at international level, and the majority of those absent don’t fare much better when it comes to finding the back of the net.
It’s easy and somewhat justifiable to blame the strikers for this problem, but surely one or two of the midfielder players should be taking greater responsibility in this regard as well.
5. Changes strengthen Ireland considerably
Ireland were probably at their best in the final 20 minutes of last night’s match.
They took the lead against the run of play with Doyle’s header, and rarely threatened for the remainder of the first half.
Unsurprisingly, the second-half changes belatedly swung the momentum in the Boys in Green’s favour, as they searched for a winner.
Jeff Hendrick offered a greater presence and more composed passing than Paul Green in midfield, Aiden McGeady provided superior pace and ball-carrying ability to Anthony Pilkington out wide and Wes Hoolahan gave the midfield some badly-needed creativity and footballing intelligence.
Consequently, the game will surely have provided Martin O’Neill with a clearer picture of his strongest first XI, and that factor, more than the result, is surely what friendlies are all about.
