Players' positives from narrow win
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“I could have that 100% record forever,” joked Kevin Doyle after captaining a youthful Irish side to a 1-0 win over South Africa last night. “It was a privilege but if I never do it again I’ll still be delighted with tonight. To win as well was nice, I’ll probably only be captain once but to get the win was good.
“The amount of possession they had didn’t help but it was a tough game for us. Although if you look at what Kieren Westwood had to do, it was very little and we had more in front of goal. The goal too was excellent, to have that when we under so much pressure was excellent and it was a great strike by Liam Lawrence,” the interim skipper added.
Leon Best replaced the Wolves attacker just before the hour mark, and Doyle believes it’s good to have such capable back-up if he picks up yet another injury which has niggled at him for the past 12 months.
The Wexford man said: “I think Leon done well in his first friendly as well in London at the start of the Summer. We’ve Caleb as well who has done very well, as well as Andy Keogh who has been quality up front this season as well for Wolves. There’s three or four lads there to keep both me and Robbie on our toes.
Liam Lawrence’s goal was the only real highlight for the paltry 11,300 inside the ground and the Stoke City midfielder gave his thoughts on the strike after the final whistle. “I caught it well to be fair, but I also did the same first time around. I was going for the same corner and it dipped at the last minute and the keeper didn’t really get there.
“It plants a seed in his (Trapattoni’s) head,” Lawrence then proclaimed after a relatively impressive performance on the wing. “It was a hard game and South Africa kept the ball well. We let them have it and they didn’t really hurt us and get any clear cut chances. It was just a matter of being patient and working hard and I think we done well tonight.
While the bulk of Trapattoni’s first choice players were absent, some members of the fringe squad impressed on a night which disappointed off of the pitch due to a poor crowd inside the home of Munster Rugby. The fluidity of the South African’s was good to watch, but Sean St. Ledger impressed again at the back, managing to keep the Bafana Bafana quiet in front of goal throughout the 90 minutes.
The Preston player said: “Obviously it was a tough game, South Africa are a good outfit. We got the win and everybody is delighted in the changing room. I thought they passed the ball very well but didn’t have too many shots and we didn’t have too many problems.”
However, St. Ledger was keen to play down the idea that he will be guaranteed a starting place for the visit of Italy next month. “I never take things for granted. You just never know really whether I’ll play or not. I’ll have to keep playing well for my club and see what happens.
“The amount of possession they had didn’t help but it was a tough game for us. Although if you look at what Kieren Westwood had to do, it was very little and we had more in front of goal. The goal too was excellent, to have that when we under so much pressure was excellent and it was a great strike by Liam Lawrence,” the interim skipper added.
Leon Best replaced the Wolves attacker just before the hour mark, and Doyle believes it’s good to have such capable back-up if he picks up yet another injury which has niggled at him for the past 12 months.
The Wexford man said: “I think Leon done well in his first friendly as well in London at the start of the Summer. We’ve Caleb as well who has done very well, as well as Andy Keogh who has been quality up front this season as well for Wolves. There’s three or four lads there to keep both me and Robbie on our toes.
Liam Lawrence’s goal was the only real highlight for the paltry 11,300 inside the ground and the Stoke City midfielder gave his thoughts on the strike after the final whistle. “I caught it well to be fair, but I also did the same first time around. I was going for the same corner and it dipped at the last minute and the keeper didn’t really get there.
“It plants a seed in his (Trapattoni’s) head,” Lawrence then proclaimed after a relatively impressive performance on the wing. “It was a hard game and South Africa kept the ball well. We let them have it and they didn’t really hurt us and get any clear cut chances. It was just a matter of being patient and working hard and I think we done well tonight.
While the bulk of Trapattoni’s first choice players were absent, some members of the fringe squad impressed on a night which disappointed off of the pitch due to a poor crowd inside the home of Munster Rugby. The fluidity of the South African’s was good to watch, but Sean St. Ledger impressed again at the back, managing to keep the Bafana Bafana quiet in front of goal throughout the 90 minutes.
The Preston player said: “Obviously it was a tough game, South Africa are a good outfit. We got the win and everybody is delighted in the changing room. I thought they passed the ball very well but didn’t have too many shots and we didn’t have too many problems.”
However, St. Ledger was keen to play down the idea that he will be guaranteed a starting place for the visit of Italy next month. “I never take things for granted. You just never know really whether I’ll play or not. I’ll have to keep playing well for my club and see what happens.
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile