February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
If Robbie Keane’s superb individual goal in first-half injury time made the difference, his contribution wasn’t confined to a stunning shot. In fact, this was probably Keane’s best performance in an Ireland jersey.
Now just one short of Niall Quinn’s Irish record 21 goals, Keane latched onto a pass from Andy Reid and beat Fulham goalie Edwin van der Saar with a fierce shot.
Said Keane after the game: “To score against one of the best teams in the world is good. I was pleased to score. But to win is more important.”
Keane’s all-around play also impressed Holland and Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
“I thought Robbie was fantastic; he was the one that made them play,” said Van Nistelrooy, who also paid tribute to Matt Holland and Clinton Morrison. Elsewhere, the inexperience of Alan Quinn, Graham Barrett and Alan Maybury was difficult to detect as they contained the Dutch in a highly impressive manner.
“I felt it was possible before the match,” said Kerr, whose side had been humbled 3-0 by Nigeria just a week earlier. “I’d seen us winning games like that before with younger teams, and I just kind of sensed that they wanted to prove themselves after what happened against Nigeria.
“There really wasn’t that much experience there but the players gelled really well. Any of them who go back to their clubs for preseason training will feel more confident about themselves, or at least they should.”
Holland, one of the favorites to lift Euro ’04, are now winless against Ireland in their last three encounters. They were beaten 1-0 by a Jason McAteer goal in a World Cup qualifier in Dublin three years ago. This after earlier holding the Irish to a 2-2 tie in Amsterdam.
With Holland playing their final match before the European Championship finals in Portugal, and with their players determined to impress, the Irish victory was all the more praiseworthy.
“I wasn’t surprised by their quality,” added Van Nistelrooy. “They didn’t play the long ball, they were patient, they were clever, they were good. They should be at the Euro finals.”
Failure to qualify may still rankle with Kerr, but the future certainly looks bright.
Ireland: Shay Given, Steve Finnan, Alan Maybury, Kenny Cunningham, Andy O’Brien, Matt Holland, Graham Barrett, Alan Quinn, Andy Reid (Michael Doyle, 88th), Clinton Morrison (Alan Lee, 83rd), Robbie Keane.
Holland: Edwin van der Sar, Michael Reiziger (Johnny Heitinga, 46th), Jaap Stam, Wilfred Bouma (Pierre van Hooijdonk, 84th), Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder (Andy van der Meyde, 46th), Philip Cocu, Rafael van der Vaart, Edgar Davids (Arjen Robben, 66th); Patrick Kluivert (Clarence Seedorf then Paul Bosvelt, 63rd), Ruud van Nistelrooij (Roy Makaay, 66th).