 FINLAND
0 - 3 IRELAND
Ireland cruised to a 3-0 victory over Finland
in Helsinki tonight with Arsenal's Graham Barrett netting on his senior
debut. Robbie Keane put Ireland 1-0 up in the 12th minutes after excellent
build-up work from Mark Kinsella and Damien Duff left him with the simplest
of tap-ins. Although the Leeds man could not add to his own tally, Colin
Healy and Graham Barrett both did late on, each collecting their first
international goals, the latter just seven minutes after being introduced
for his debut. Ireland had the better of the first half in terms of
possession and territory but numerous second half substitutes affected
the rhythm of the game and Ireland's dominance. Liverpool's Jari Litmanen
was a major source of danger for Finland and after creating space for
himself on the edge of the area he curled a shot just wide with Kiely
beaten. His next shot clipped the top of the bar, although this time
Kiely was in control of the situation. Meanwhile, Healy's Celtic future
has been questioned lately but if Hoops chief Martin O'Neill had been
among the 12,000 crowd in the Olympic Stadium tonight he would already
be pencilling the midfielder into his team sheet. His first telling
contribution was to crack home Rory Delap's nod back from Stephen McPhail's
far post cross. That strike sealed the win, but Healy was not done.
He then took Kilbane's cross-field pass in his stride, before embarking
on a dangerous run into the area which was only halted when Barrett
whipped the ball off his foot to ram home one of the quickest debut
goals in Irish history and wrap up an excellent win.
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 IRELAND
1-1 SPAIN 2-3 ON PENALTIES
Spain won the day on penalties after an unbearably
dramatic second-round match in Suwon, Korea. Heavy Spanish pressure
paid dividends early as the red-clad side went a goal to the good after
only eight minutes. A late spot kick by Robbie Keane for Ireland forced
the match into goalless extra time. The Spaniards will meet the winner
of the Korea – Italy clash in the quarter-finals. Fernando Morientes
grabbed his third goal of the tournament with a well-placed header in
the opening minutes of the match. Spain conceded a hard penalty midway
through the second half, though Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas did
out Ian Harte’s try. But the youngster could do nothing to keep
out the second penalty taken coolly by Keane to send the match to extra
time and eventually penalties, where Spain won 3-2 with a cool strike
from Gaizka Mendieta.The match got off to a fast start, with both sides
looking dangerous in the attack. Robbie Keane had the first chance of
the game, a shot from a medium angle at the edge of the area that whistled
past the far post . Spain had their first chance minutes later, and
they took it. Puyol served a cross from the right wing perfectly onto
the head of Fernando Morientes, and the Real Madrid striker’s header
left Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given with no chance. Ireland responded
well to the early deficit. They began to maintain possession and shut
down Spain’s technical play in midfield. But Spain weathered the
storm, and after some frustration they adjusted by mixing in the occasional
long ball and quick counter-attack. Before long, Spain were once again
looking like the more dangerous team. The Irish defence, though, kept
Spain in check with a well-organized offside trap. In total, the assistant
referee raised his flag on the Spanish forwards nine times before the
interval. Keane looked close to getting things level after Matt Holland’s
pass found the Leeds United striker racing into the middle of the penalty
area. A tough bounce, though, forced Keane to swivel awkwardly, and
his flick backwards went high over the crossbar. Soon after the break
Ireland had a golden opportunity when Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas
couldn’t handle a high ball in the area. He dropped it onto the
foot of Kevin Kilbane, but the Sunderland man’s shot was cleared
off the line by Fernando Hierro. Ireland seemed to have the break they
needed when Juanfran was called for a foul on Damien Duff in the penalty
area, but Ian Harte’s spot-kick went right at Casillas. The ball
bounced out tantalisingly in front of the goal, but Kilbane missed badly
with the Spanish keeper still on the ground and the net gaping .Later
Casillas came up big as Keane got in on goal for a chance at a half-volley.
The Real Madrid keeper bravely came off his line and blocked the shot,
exposing himself to a painful-looking collision with Keane . When it
looked like it was all over for Ireland, they got another chance from
the penalty spot when Hierro was called for a foul on Niall Quinn. Keane
took the shot this time, and he made no mistake. Ireland had new life
.Spain were forced to play with 10 men after Albelda went off with an
injury and they were left without a substitute. Ireland maintained pressure
for most of the first half of extra time, but the Spanish defence held
firm. Keane almost had the golden goal early in the second extra period,
but he missed wide to the right with his volley from a step outside
the area . Then Hierro had a chance on a free kick, but he struck his
shot into the wall. Then Baraja and David Connolly traded near-misses
from 25 metres. Baraja’s shot was saved well by a diving Given,
and then Connolly’s shot missed just outside the left post . Neither
side would go close again, and extra time gave way to cruel penalties.
The spot-kicks, Casillas was magnificent. He saved shots by Connolly
and Kilbane, and Holland missed off the crossbar, with only Keane and
Steve Finnan finding the net for Ireland. For Spain, Juan Carlos Valeron
and Juanfran missed, but strikes by Hierro, Baraja, and Mendieta were
enough to start Spain’s celebration and send them through to the
quarter-finals.
|
 Robbie
Keane has blasted FIFA's urine sampling policy, after he was selected
to give a sample for the 2nd time in 6 days! Keane's misery came after
the Irish were on a high after beating Saudi Arabia. Robbie scored in
the 3-0 win over the Arabs to book Ireland's place in the 2nd stages
of the world-cup. However he was infuriated to learn that once again,
he'd been picked out to provide a sample under FIFA's random policy.
So instead of joining his delirious team-mates, Keane and team-mate
Kevin Kilbane had to endure the unsavoury post-match ritual of piddling
into a plastic-cup! Keane was so narked by the procedure, he even reckoned
he'd rather give blood! "I was called over straight after the final
whistle and I didn't even get time to go into the dressing room with
the rest of the lads," said a fuming Keane. "It was demoralising.
Everyone was going up to their families and I was stuck behind with
Kevin away from it all. You play football to enjoy moments like that
and that was taken away from us. My name came out of the hat and I was
unfortunate that it did so for two games in a row. I was in bits after
the game and I drank about eight bottles of water to try and produce
a sample. In the end it worked but it didn't help me sleep. It took
me almost three hours to produce a sample while I was held back for
two and a half hours after the Germany game as well. I didn't get back
to the team hotel until three o'clock in the morning, along with Kevin.
It's a complete joke because people are asking me what was it like in
the dressing room and I haven't got a clue. To be honest, it's ridiculous
and stupid from Fifa's point of view. They've got to sort something
out about the way they do these tests. There must be another way of
doing it because after the game is the wrong time. They should either
do it before the game, the next morning or even get everybody to undergo
the test together. That would be preferable to two players being asked
to leave their team-mates who are celebrating a win or a good result.
Maybe they should do away with the urine
sample and just take the blood sample which is just the same. I don't
mind being asked to do a second test, it's when they do it which is
annoying. Fifa should use their head."
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HOMETOWN
HONOUR FOR ROBBIE