There's only one Keano!
08/06/02 | by Ade O'Connor

Well, that is not strictly true, but now in the eyes of many fans, and certainly mine, there is only one Keano worth talking about. What a moment it was when with only seconds to go in the minutes of injury time, Robbie Keane picked up the flick on from Niall Quinn and despatched it into the net.

The whole of Ireland, and parts of England, Scotland, America and Australia must have erupted as that equalising goal went in, in the most dramatic of fashions. How quick can emotions change for those not lucky enough to be in Japan, in an Irish pub just outside London this was the case, never before had such an emphatic roar gone up then when the better Keane scored.

This proved to be a great draw for Ireland, one that gives the team real hope of reaching the next stage of the World Cup. Now that Cameroon have only won 1-0 against the little fancied Saudi Arabia, it means that to be guaranteed of going through, all Ireland need to do is beat the Arabians by two clear goals, or if that is not achieved a win by 1 goal with Germany coming away the victors from their match against Cameroon.

It could have all been so different for the Irish, the Germans looked solid from the off and Irelands only real chance in the opening minutes was a promising run for Damian Duff. I always felt that Duff could do real damage against the Germans, as their defence is not as quick as the Cameroonian one, thus they would find him hard to keep up with. The Blackburn winger come centre forward did have a great game, and was unlucky to score later on.

Yet after a few close shaves for Irelands defence, it was the Germans who broke the deadlock. If you are looking for a man to blame in this move, it has to be Ian Harte. Staunton had no option but to pick up the next man running into the box, and even ushered Harte to cover the free man, yet Harte made little effort to get there. In the end, Klose had the goal side view and headed the ball down giving the diving Given little chance.

To be perfectly honest, I has been told before that Harte was a weak link in defence and was only in the team for two reasons, that there was no better man to take his place at left back, and that he was a free kick and penalty specialist like no other in the squad. Maybe it is a little harsh to judge the Leeds player purely on that mistake, but now many supporters get the feeling that a decent right-winger would exploit his defensive frailties.

Better news for the Irish came as they were able to push forward as the half went on, and looked like scoring an equaliser much earlier than they did in the Cameroon game. Just before the half time whistle, Robbie Keane had a chance, which on any other day he must have put away. The ball came in over the top, and a miss header from the German centre back say Robbie watch the ball and attempt an overhead kick, it didn't come off for him. Perhaps he may have taken the ball under control and then looked to strike it, in any case Oliver Kahn was on top form.

At half time, Ireland was a goal down, but still the outlook looked sunnier for the Ireland team. Towards the end of the half, they were definitely putting the German defence under some strain, and the fans continued to stay right behind the team. It's always good to see the Irish supporters abroad not wavering for a second, clearly out shouting every other fan they have come up against. Is there another group of supporters who would be smiling when they are 1-0 down at half time?

But the Irish enthusiasm is not appreciated by all, even from an ex-Ireland player himself, Eamonn Dunphy. He apparently does not believe that this support merits any praise, instead he believes that, "they are like flag waving leprechauns when Ireland are winning." I think no thanks goes to Mr Dunphy, who seems to take time to insult loyal fans, of the same mentality of the fans when he used to attempt football.

The next half resumed with more Irish pressure, which now seemed to be getting to become a second half team! Perhaps Mick McCarthy's team talks do them a World of good, or is it just that the Irish are always at their most dangerous when underdogs and a goal down? Either way, Ireland have been impressive in the latter half of the match, but a win is always unlikely as Ireland to this game have never scored more than a single goal in a World Cup Finals match.

Damian Duff continued to cause problems up front, as predicted by many pundits and fans. Duffer was singled out as a man who could turn a game on an instant before the tournament and he almost did just that when he latched onto a through ball only to have his shot saved by the in form Oliver Kahn. The chances were becoming more frequent for Duff and Keane, and Ireland as a team, who grew in strength and confidence, against a receding German team.

When Big Niall came on, it gave Ireland a different attacking option. The disadvantage of playing with two small quick players up front is that you aren't going to win many high balls, when you can bring on a big lad like Quinny; it gives you a different element. Defenders find it harder against a 6"4 man, especially at the end of the game when fatigue is just about setting in. This was a real gamble by Mick, fortunately for him and Ireland, it paid off big time.

Then one of the crowning moments in Irish football in recent years, since David O`Leary's penalty to send Ireland through to the quarter finals and since Ray Houghton scored against Italy to bring home a 1-0 success - Robbie Keane joined the legends. Robbie always had the potential to score a vital goal like this and now he had realised it. It couldn't have happened in more dramatic fashion, in the dying seconds, a goal that could make Irelands World Cup campaign all the more enjoyable.

Television replays showed the true jubilation on the face of the Ireland manager, Mick McCarthy. It was on show that his eyes followed the long ball forward, mouth shot open as Niall Quinn made the flick on and then his eyes bulge and fists clench in delight as the goal went in. For Mick this meant that it was another string to his bow in which he uses to shoot down the critics, who believe that another man should take the job. Now there cannot be many left, after guiding the team to the finals, and then putting on an excellent show so far, McCarthy has earned his stripes.

The next day, the situation got better for Ireland, without even the need to kick a ball. A largely unfancied Saudi Arabia side, coming back from an 8-0 mauling by Germany, gave Cameroon a real game, which were unable to beat the Arabian defence until only 30 minutes were left on the clock. Samuel Eto'os strike gave Cameroon the lead, but 1-0 it stayed at for the rest of the game. The Saudi's looked good going forward, and on some occasions threatened a goal.

What does this mean for Ireland? It means that all Ireland need to do to guarantee progress to the second round of the World Cup is to beat Saudi Arabia by two clear goals. Even if Ireland can only manage a victory by one goal, then if there is a winner out of the Germany v Cameroon game, Ireland would go through at the expense of the loser. It looks good, but remember, Ireland have never scored more then one goal in any given match at the World Cup Finals.

But, Saudi Arabia are arguably the weakest team that Ireland have met in the World Cup Finals in recent years, so the strike force of Keane and Duff should be able to get two or more. After that, in many fans eyes, anything is a bonus for the Republic. There simply is no pressure on the team, to get out of the group stages would silence the critics and firmly rub it in the face of Roy Keane - mission accomplished.

It wouldn't end there though, Ireland are most likely to meet Spain in the next stage, should they overcome Saudi Arabia and nothing unexpected to happen in the Spaniards matches. I think Spain may just be a bridge too far for the Irish though. After watching the Spaniards play Paraguay, I felt that they showed a lot of spirit and determination to come back from the 1 goal deficit, and then to add to their lead from there was impressive. It says a lot when they can afford to leave a player of Morientes' class on the bench, who came on and scored a couple of goals for them after the half time interval.

Hold on, Ireland is not through to the next stage yet, and they certainly are by no means out of this tournament yet. The Spaniards have had a reputation of disappointing once they venture beyond the group stages, and let us not forget that Ireland have a history of upsetting the odds. But we can only watch and wait, and will Ireland onto victory - and if not we'll have the craic anyway!