Not bad for STARTERS
Giovanni Trapattoni’s men have a huge task on their hands against Germany. DAIRE WALSH looks back at how vital our first home game of qualifying has historically become.
FOLLOWING our dramatic 2-1 away victory over Kazakhstan in the opening game of Ireland’s World Cup Qualifying Group C, Giovanni Trapattoni’s charges will be hoping to turn the Aviva Stadium into a fortress when Germany arrive into Dublin for a mouth-watering clash.
The Joachim Low-managed outfit will pose a major threat to the Boys In Green, but the evidence of recent years would suggest that Ireland will stand a good chance of getting some joy from their first home tie of the current campaign.
You have to go back ten years to the Euro 2004 qualifying series to find the last time that Ireland made a losing competitive start on their home turf, but just how much bearing will this game have on the overall outlook of the group?
Perhaps the best way to gauge the essence of this game in a general context is to look back at what followed after Ireland’s home qualification bows in the modern age.
Most recently, when Ireland successfully secured their seat (through the play-offs) at the Euro 2012 table, the Republic registered an early facile 3-1 victory over Andorra on September 7 2010, just four days after a late Keith Fahey goal earned Ireland all three points away to Armenia.
Though it was heartening to see goals from Kevin Kilbane, Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane get Ireland over the line, it was clear that bigger tasks lay ahead.
The 2010 World Cup qualifiers would end with Ireland making the play-offs for the first time in eight years, and four points from two tricky away games early on against Georgia and Montenegro were followed by a tough home assignment against Cyprus which, despite some nervy moments, saw Ireland coming out on top thanks to a fifth minute goal by Robbie Keane, giving the newly-appointed Giovanni Trapattoni two wins and one draw from his first three competitive fixtures.
Matters on the pitch were markedly different by the time the Czech Republic were welcomed to Lansdowne Road for a Euro 2008 qualifier on October 11 2006 however, as morale was extremely low following two away reversals against Germany (0-1) and Cyprus (2-5), which was putting managerial novice Steve Staunton under immense pressure.
Ireland managed to dig deep on this occasion, as goals from Kevin Kilbane and Jan Koller ensured that there was a share of the spoils, though this would only be a temporary reprieve for Staunton, who was released from his contract before the campaign ended.
Staunton’s predecessor in the job, Brian Kerr, was a mid-campaign appointment during the Euro 2004 qualifiers, but was there from the word go during the road to Germany 2006, when Ireland got off to a flying start with a 3-0 win in Lansdowne against Cyprus, the goals coming from Clinton Morrison, Andy Reid and Robbie Keane.
The opening part of this group had looked extremely promising (particularly during the 0-0 draw away to France), but the wheels started to come off during the closing stages, as draws home and away against Israel, and a 1-0 defeat to France in Dublin, would lead to a disappointing fourth place finish, and the dismissal of Kerr.
Ireland would also end up in this position for their preceding qualifying series, with Mick McCarthy deciding to walk away after a 2-1 opening home defeat to Switzerland on October 16 2002, which came hot on the heels of the previous month’s 4-2 loss to Russia in Moscow.
However, McCarthy will have fond memories of his side stepping out on home ground for the first time in his three previous qualifying attempts, as games against Macedonia, Croatia and Estonia in 1996, 1998 and 2000 all ended in victory for the Republic.
Having come away from Eschen with a comfortable 5-0 victory in the first game of the 1998 World Cup Qualifying Group 8, Ireland disposed of Macedonia quite comfortably with goals from Tony Cascarino (2) and Jason McAteer.
After an erratic campaign, Ireland would come off second best in the play-offs against Belgium, and they would have more play-off heartache against Turkey two years later at the end of a campaign that started promisingly with a 2-0 home triumph against a Croatian team that had just finished third in the World Cup, with Manchester United duo Denis Irwin and Roy Keane finding the target.
McCarthy’s outfit would finally get it right in the play-offs against Iran for the Japan/South Korea World Cup, though, and the catalyst for this successful campaign was formed in two excellent away draws against Holland and Portugal, and a 2-0 home triumph against Estonia (Mark Kinsella and Richard Dunne the scorers).
The former Celtic defender’s positive starts to these groups were of vital importance to him personally, as he was following in the footsteps of the Republic Of Ireland’s most celebrated manager, Jack Charlton, who enjoyed a near-flawless record from his opening home games, four wins and one draw to be exact.
Indeed, before that ill-fated defeat to the Swiss a decade ago, you have to go back to 1972 to find the last time that the Emerald Isle made a losing home start, when an 83rd minute Terry Conroy goal proved too little too late as Liam Tuohy’s brigade went down 2-1 to the USSR.
Extend it further and you will find that the Republic’s home competitive record (excluding play-offs) stands at 9 defeats from 84 in the past 40 years, so there certainly are omens on our side as we aim to steal points off a unit that is packed with Champions League experience.
How a positive/negative result will affect our final destiny won’t become clear until a later date however, as recent evidence has been somewhat unreliable.