WITH JUST 25 days until Euro 2012 kicks off, the bulk of Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad finished up their club duties yesterday ahead next week’s training camp in Dublin.
We round up the performances, goals and potential injury worries which might face the Boys in Green.
Premier League
Jon Walters (Stoke 2-2 Bolton)
The Potters striker effectively ended Bolton’s 11-year Premier League stay with two goals at the Britannia.
The first came through controversial circumstances as Walters crashed into goalkeeper Adam Bogdan to send the ball over the line before he dispatched a penalty for the second. Glenn Whelan played the 90 minutes at central midfield.
Shane Long (West Brom 2-3 Arsenal)
There was more good news for our strikers as Shane Long, starting up front alongside Simon Cox, drilled home a shot 11 minutes in. Keith Andrews was named on the bench and made his entrance shortly after half-time.
John O’Shea (Sunderland 0-1 Manchester United)
Irish fans could be heard groaning when O’Shea trudged off the pitch at the Stadium of Light right before the break. He picked up a calf injury but despite the suggestion that his involvement in Poland could be in doubt, the word today is more optimistic. James McClean put in a decent shift on the left wing.
Darron Gibson (Everton 3-1 Newcastle)
The Derry midfielder returned from a knee problem to make his 15th appearance for the Toffees since joining in January and was involved in the third goal as Johnny Heitinga headed his cross past Tim Krul. Seamus Coleman, who is on stand-by, was an unused sub.
Damien Duff (Tottenham 2-0 Fulham)
Fulham’s right-hand side pairing Duff and Stephen Kelly were on the losing end of a 2-0 scoreline at White Hart Lane but will be glad to have come through the game unscathed.
Richard Dunne (Norwich 2-0 Aston Villa)
In what has been a season to forget for Aston Villa, Dunne clocked up his third game since returning from injury, which is great news with a little over three weeks left until Ireland play Croatia. Team-mate Shay Given was between the sticks.
Kevin Foley (Wigan 3-2 Wolves)
Full-back Foley couldn’t shake off a hamstring injury in time to play Wolves’ last Premier League game for at least a year but should be alright to link up with the team next week. Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt also played while James McCarthy, who has pulled out of the squad, was in the Wigan line-up.
Paddy Kenny (Manchester City 3-2 QPR)
He may not be in the squad but Kenny played a big part in the title run-in yesterday. Was at fault for Pablo Zabaleta’s opener but redeemed himself with a couple of good stops. Couldn’t prevent Kompany and Aguero from rescuing the win on a truly incredible day of football, however.
Russian Premier League
Aiden McGeady (Lokomotiv Moscow 0-2 Spartak Moscow)
Our man in Russia started for Spartak against city rivals Lokomotiv and set up the first goal from a corner as they clinched second place in the domestic league and with it Champions League qualification.
Has not seen eye-to-eye with manager Valery Karpin at times this year but it will be a different story when he returns from Poland. Highly rated Valencia boss Unai Emery was confirmed as the new man in charge today.
SPL
Jon Daly (Motherwell 0-2 Dundee United)
And finally, a quick mention for Dundee United’s Jon Daly, who scored in Dundee’s win over Motherwell to finish second in the SPL goal charts with 19 for the season.
That would have been good enough to draw level with Gary Hooper, but the Celtic striker incredibly hit Hearts for five on the same day.
