Ireland v Cyprus- Tactical View

Ireland just about deserved the 3 points in Croke Park on Wednesday night. They did have more chances and were on top for a lot of the game but there were flaws in the performance.

3 points is 3 points though and if Ireland are to qualify out of group 8 it is results such as this scrappy win that will prove to be pivotal.

Paul Mc Shane was expected to play at centre back but the partnership of Richard Dunne and John O’Shea remained and Mc Shane started at right-back, due to the late withdrawl of Aloneftis. Richard Dunne was impressive at the back, the big defender is never one to shy away from a tackle and quelled any danger the Cypriots posessed with some excellent blocks and interceptions.

While none of the other defenders produced a stand-out performance, Cyprus were still kept scoreless and Trapattoni must of been happy with his sides defensive minded performance.

Shay Given did have to make a couple of saves but the most important of those was when the ball hit his chest after Christofi’s shot was deflected off of his own player towards Given with only a quarter of an hour on the clock.

Robbie Keane scored the goal but it was Kevin Doyle who was the most impressive of the Irish players on the night. He held up the ball brilliantly at times and considering the Irish central midfield were non-existent at times he was key to playing the ball to the wingers at times.

The inexperienced midfield pairing of Glenn Whelan and Darron Gibson never really took a firm hold of the game but it would be unfair to criticise two players who are still new to the International setup and they will surely improve with the more opportunities they get from Trapattoni.

In their defence, it looked like Trapattoni wanted them to sit back and become more defensive minded after the goal. Unfortunate when you consider that the goal was scored with 85 minutes remaining. The tactic did work though and Gibson's full debut was solid. He passed the ball around with the composure of a player who has being playing on the International stage for years.

One very interesting aspect of the the Irish’s tactics is Damien Duff and Aidan Mc Geady swapping wings. This tactic was used effectively to freshen up the attack and confuse the two wingbacks. Mc Geady in particular, tormented the Cypriot defence with his deft touches and skilful dribbles throughout the 90 minutes.

Another intuiging feature of Trapattoni’s management is that he seems to have a reluctance in making substitutions. Caleb Folan was his only change against Cyprus and that was in the 93rd minute to kill some valuable seconds. With the bench made up of predominantly midfielders it was a strange decision not to shake it up with a half hour to go as the aforementioned duo of Whelan and Gibson tired.

Trapattoni has definitely brought a new sense of belief into the team which was so poor during Steve Staunton’s tenure as manager. The players fought for the 90 minutes and because of this were deserving of the win even though it probably won’t be the most memorable performance the team will have under the guidance of Trapattoni.

Images are courtesy of Gary Fox, Freelance Photojournalist who's work can be found at www.garyfox.ie or alternatively http://www.flickr.com/photos/gfox/