Republic of Ireland 2 - 1 Paraguay
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
First-half goals from Kevin Doyle and Liam Lawrence were enough to give Giovanni Trapattoni's side the victory over World Cup finalists Paraguay in a lively friendly encounter at the RDS on Tuesday evening.
The game began at a fairly high tempo, and Ireland looked like they had a genuine opportunity on goal when Liam Lawrence found himself in space on the right, but the Stoke man was adjudged to be offside. Replays seemed to suggest that he was played onside by the nearest Paraguay player, but the decision didn't go Ireland's way on this occasion.
They didn't have to wait long until their next chance however, as a corner from the left by Lawrence was headed onto the bar by Man City striker Roque Santa Cruz, after Paul McShane had missed with an acrobatic attempt, with Doyle bravely nodding into the net from a couple of yards out.
The Wexford-native seemed to be winded for a moment after scoring, but he soon recovered to bask in the glory of scoring his eighth goal at International level. Ireland had a decent start to this game in general, so it wasn't that much of a surprise that they opened the scoring, but Paraguay did settle down eventually, and started to pass the ball well, with Jonathan Santana and Rodolfo Gamarra in particular showing well.
Ireland continued to threaten though, as both Damien Duff and Sean St. Ledger shot over from close-range. There were claims for an Irish penalty on 28 minutes when Lawrence went to ground under a Santa Cruz tackle, but the claims were waved away by Switzerland official Jerome Lapperriere.
It has be said that this was a tough call for the referee, as Santa Cruz did appear to stick out a leg out at Lawrence, but the benefit of the doubt on this occasion went the way of the towering frontman.
As the half wore on, Paraguay started to come into the game more, but they were struggling to create any clear-cut opportunities in the final-third against a disciplined Ireland back line. Then, just when it looked like remaining 1-0 until the end of the half, Giovanni Trapattoni's men doubled their advantage with 39 minutes gone when Lawrence finished with a deflected strike from a tight angle after Doyle had flicked on a Stephen Kelly delivery.
This put the home side into a terrific position with the break approaching, but Keiren Westwood had to produce a fine save in injury-time when Antolin Alcaraz unleashed an a low drive from 30 yards as the South Americans looked to strike back. The Manchester-born net-minder managed to turn this effort behind though, and this meant that Ireland went in at the break with their two-goal lead still firmly intact.
The game would continue to be competitive after the break, and Duff had a good chance on goal when he broke free down the right seven minutes in, but his shot was parried comfortably by Paraguay 'keeper Aldo Bobadilla.
A goal here would have killed off the game as a contest, but instead Paraguay came right back into the game with a goal six minutes later. The move started with Santana and Gamarra doing a nice one-two, before the latter off-loaded to Lucas Barrios who buried low to the net from 12 yards.
As the match entered the final half-hour and both sides opted to make a number of changes to their personnel, chances started to become few and far between. Out of the two teams, it was probably Paraguay who enjoyed the best possession in the closing stages, but once again they seemed to threaten more than they actually delivered.
Ireland did get on top of their opponents at the end again, and they held on for a hard-earned and well-deserved victory.
Republic of Ireland: Westwood; Kelly, McShane, St. Ledger, O'Shea; Lawrence (Foley '82), Andrews, Whelan (Green '69), Duff (Fahey '77); Keane (Sheridan '62), Doyle (Long '87).
Subs not used: Stokes, O'Dea, J Murphy, Best, Cunningham, B Murphy.
Paraguay: Bobadilla; Da Silva, Caniza, Acaraz, Morel (Torres '66); Vera (Bonet '66), Riveros (Ortigoza '66), Santana (Aquino '81), Gamarra; Santa Cruz (Martinez '77), Barrios.Subs not used: Villar, Veron, Cesar Caceres, Caceres, Caceres, Ledesma, Estigarribia, Achucarro.
Referee: Jerome Lapperriere (Switzerland).
Extratime Man Of The Match: Kevin Doyle (Ireland).
The game began at a fairly high tempo, and Ireland looked like they had a genuine opportunity on goal when Liam Lawrence found himself in space on the right, but the Stoke man was adjudged to be offside. Replays seemed to suggest that he was played onside by the nearest Paraguay player, but the decision didn't go Ireland's way on this occasion.
They didn't have to wait long until their next chance however, as a corner from the left by Lawrence was headed onto the bar by Man City striker Roque Santa Cruz, after Paul McShane had missed with an acrobatic attempt, with Doyle bravely nodding into the net from a couple of yards out.
The Wexford-native seemed to be winded for a moment after scoring, but he soon recovered to bask in the glory of scoring his eighth goal at International level. Ireland had a decent start to this game in general, so it wasn't that much of a surprise that they opened the scoring, but Paraguay did settle down eventually, and started to pass the ball well, with Jonathan Santana and Rodolfo Gamarra in particular showing well.
Ireland continued to threaten though, as both Damien Duff and Sean St. Ledger shot over from close-range. There were claims for an Irish penalty on 28 minutes when Lawrence went to ground under a Santa Cruz tackle, but the claims were waved away by Switzerland official Jerome Lapperriere.
It has be said that this was a tough call for the referee, as Santa Cruz did appear to stick out a leg out at Lawrence, but the benefit of the doubt on this occasion went the way of the towering frontman.
As the half wore on, Paraguay started to come into the game more, but they were struggling to create any clear-cut opportunities in the final-third against a disciplined Ireland back line. Then, just when it looked like remaining 1-0 until the end of the half, Giovanni Trapattoni's men doubled their advantage with 39 minutes gone when Lawrence finished with a deflected strike from a tight angle after Doyle had flicked on a Stephen Kelly delivery.
This put the home side into a terrific position with the break approaching, but Keiren Westwood had to produce a fine save in injury-time when Antolin Alcaraz unleashed an a low drive from 30 yards as the South Americans looked to strike back. The Manchester-born net-minder managed to turn this effort behind though, and this meant that Ireland went in at the break with their two-goal lead still firmly intact.
The game would continue to be competitive after the break, and Duff had a good chance on goal when he broke free down the right seven minutes in, but his shot was parried comfortably by Paraguay 'keeper Aldo Bobadilla.
A goal here would have killed off the game as a contest, but instead Paraguay came right back into the game with a goal six minutes later. The move started with Santana and Gamarra doing a nice one-two, before the latter off-loaded to Lucas Barrios who buried low to the net from 12 yards.
As the match entered the final half-hour and both sides opted to make a number of changes to their personnel, chances started to become few and far between. Out of the two teams, it was probably Paraguay who enjoyed the best possession in the closing stages, but once again they seemed to threaten more than they actually delivered.
Ireland did get on top of their opponents at the end again, and they held on for a hard-earned and well-deserved victory.
Republic of Ireland: Westwood; Kelly, McShane, St. Ledger, O'Shea; Lawrence (Foley '82), Andrews, Whelan (Green '69), Duff (Fahey '77); Keane (Sheridan '62), Doyle (Long '87).
Subs not used: Stokes, O'Dea, J Murphy, Best, Cunningham, B Murphy.
Paraguay: Bobadilla; Da Silva, Caniza, Acaraz, Morel (Torres '66); Vera (Bonet '66), Riveros (Ortigoza '66), Santana (Aquino '81), Gamarra; Santa Cruz (Martinez '77), Barrios.Subs not used: Villar, Veron, Cesar Caceres, Caceres, Caceres, Ledesma, Estigarribia, Achucarro.
Referee: Jerome Lapperriere (Switzerland).
Extratime Man Of The Match: Kevin Doyle (Ireland).
About Daire Walsh
Daire Walsh began reporting for Extratime in 2009, when he covered Kildare County's games in the League Of Ireland First Division. He currently reports on games involving the league's Dublin sides and also Bray Wanderers. … View Full Profile