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Ireland rebuild pride with Czech draw

Wednesday 11th October 2006, 9:34 pm

Paul McShane in action against Czech Republic's Jan Koller.

Photo by Tom Carey.

Ireland rebuilt a huge amount of lost pride following Saturday's shocker in Cyprus with a batlling 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic at Lansdowne Road tonight.
Paul McShane claimed the man of the match award in his first senior appearance while Stephen Kelly, earning just his third cap also performed well at the back.

Ireland took the lead through Kevin Kilbane just after the hour following some magic down the right wing by Damien Duff. However Jan Koller levelled less than two minutes later.
From the moment the players took to the pitch for the warm-up, an extremely vocal home support that got right behind Ireland.

Aiming to make a point and put the Nicosia nightmare behind them, Ireland started brightly and had the Czech Republic on the back foot from an early Andy Reid free kick.

Stephen Kelly starred in the Irish defence. Here he blocks another attempted cross from Tomas Rosick

Photo by Tom Carey.

Milan Baros volleyed over as McShane in particular was taking charge at the back. The game also marked the return of Lee Carsley and he did well in a stopper type role in front of the Irish defence.

His role wasn't limited to that though as he barked out orders to those around him, especially those in defence.

Damien Duff returned to form and he had a shot blocked wide inside the opening ten minutes. Kevin Kilbane picked up a harsh booking after a foul was given against him after ten minutes.

It was a sign of how hard the players were trying to redeem themselves and no-one could be faulted for giving up on anything on this night.

Jonathan Douglas was another player thrown in at deep end but did well in midfield. He forced a near post save from the legs of Petr Cech after 15 minutes.

John O'Shea headed narrowly over the top as another Reid free kick created problems.

Koller just beat the Irish offside trap but under pressure from McShane dragged his shot wide. McShane may not have the glamorous club life of the giant Koller but was far from over-awed by his task and gave as good as he got when the two tussled in both boxes.

Robbie Keane had another frustrating game. Against Martin Jiranek here.

Photo by Tom Carey.

Tomas Ujfalus hit a volley narrowly wide on the half hour as some sloppy Irish defending was almost punished.

The scare of the half arrived three minutes before the break when Steve Finnan cleared off the line as Baros looked set to turn the ball in from Koller's header on after a corner.

Cech had to dive full length down low to grab Reid's curling free kick just before half-time.

It was clear that getting forty-five minutes of good football under their belts had calmed Irish nerves and the same eleven came out battling again after the break.

Keane's low bobbling shot was saved before Reid fired wide.

Jonathan Douglas blocks Milan Baros' route to goal.

Photo by Tom Carey.

The lead goal came on 64 minutes as Duff destroyed a couple of markers before squaring the ball. Kilbane made no mistake as he side-footed home and the celebrations told their own story as the team mobbed Staunton.

Any thought of a fairytale win were soon dismissed though when the ever-dangerous Koller equalised just over a minute later. The inexperience at the back was found out just once as Koller got in to level.

An exhausted Reid was withdrawn in the closing twenty minutes for Alan Quinn. Given the circumstances and his in particular, Quinn battled excellently for what remained of the game.

Kevin Kilbane (9) celebrates his goal with the bench, including Steve Staunton.

Photo by Tom Carey.

Kilbane followed soon after. This wasn't like some of the questionable knocks and strains apparently picked up on the flight from Cyprus as Kilbane was struggling with his vision after picking up a couple of knocks to the head.

With a draw on the cards, Keane should have snatched a win on 88 minutes. More Duff magic created the chance but Keane couldn't force home with his close range header.

All-in-all it has been a revealing week. Staunton proved he's brave enough for a battle while his bosses couldn't decide. Paul McShane, Stephen Kelly and Wayne Henderson came from almost no-where to put in better than average games against one of the World's top ten teams. The two defenders have made a great case to hold on to their starting spots while Henderson should now only stand behind Shay Given for the number one shirt.

Damien Duff up against Mark Jankulovski. Duff created Ireland's goal and almost created another.

Photo by Tom Carey.

Staunton made a point on insisting his team acknowledged the great support they received. A first qualifying point now lifts a lot of the gloom ahead of November's home qualifier against San Marino.

Ireland : Henderson, Finnan, Kelly, McShane, O'Shea, Carsley, A Reid (A Quinn 66), Douglas, Kilbane (Alan O'Brien 79), Duff, Keane.
Czech Republic : Cech; Ujfalusi, Jiranek, Rozehnal, Jankulovski; Plasil (Grygera 85), Kovac, Rosicky, Polak; Koller, Baros (Jarolim 83).