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YOKOHAMA, Japan (Ticker) -- Ireland took care of its own path to the second round of the World Cup. Robbie Keane hit the opener and Damien Duff added an insurance effort as Ireland blanked Saudi Arabia, 3-0, and moved into the last 16 from Group E. The Irish recorded just their second victory in 12 all-time World Cup matches. In its opening match of the 1994 World Cup, Ireland edged Italy. With its three-goal outburst, the Irish team scored more than once in a game for the first time in soccer's showcase event. Ireland's second-round opponent is expected to be Spain, which already won its opening two matches in Group B. Needing to win by at least two goals to secure a berth into the second round, Ireland got off to a superb start. Gary Kelly's cross from the right wing in the seventh minute set up Keane. The Leeds United striker rocketed home a volley from 15 yards out to collect his second goal in as many matches, giving the Irish a 1-0 lead. "It was something we worked on, getting in behind them," Ireland coach Mick McCarthy said. "It was a dream start. They then tried to slow the game down and that didn't suit us. They played well in the first half, but in the second half we were excellent." Keane also grabbed the equalizer in injury time on Wednesday to secure a crucial draw for Ireland against Germany. Duff, who exasperated the Saudi defense with his second-half runs down the left wing, made it 3-0 when the ball, which was wet from constant rain, deflected off the hands of goalkeeper Mohammed Al Deayea and into the net. "We can't blame the goalkeeper," Saudi Arabia coach Nasser Al Johar said. "We missed many chances, we were negative in the first half and not bad in the second. But we were slow and missed chances. I'm not satisfied with the way we played, Saudi was not good enough." Though Germany defeated Cameroon in the Group E match played at the same time as the Ireland-Saudi Arabia encounter. With that result, a draw would have seen the Irish through to the next round with a one-goal victory. But defender Gary Breen, who currently is unemployed after rejecting a contract offer from English club Coventry City, made sure of it in the 61st minute. He netted Ireland's second, collecting his sixth international goal. However, Saudi Arabia's disastrous World Cup finally ended, recording three defeats and yielding 12. The Saudis joined the French as teams to be eliminated from the competition without scoring. "Our team played better football," Al Johar said. "In the second half, we could not score. And then, there were more mistakes. I believe we played very good football against Cameroon and the Irish. But we did not score and that's football." The Saudis did have their chances to score against the Irish. Though McCarthy's men wisely resisted the urge to go forward recklessly in pursuit of that all-important second goal, they seemed to relax too much. In the final 15 minutes of the first half, Irish goalkeeper Shay Given parried aside a shot from defender Mohammed Al Jahani and punched clear a threatening free kick. "Everybody has been telling us all week what a big game it is. You want to try sitting in the dugout, when your backside is on the bacon slicer? It's alright for everybody else, they can enjoy it," McCarthy said. "But the lads were brilliant. We settled in the second half. We were a bit nervous in the first." McCarthy brought on 6-4 forward Niall Quinn for defender Ian Harte to start the second half, shifting Dunn out to the left wing from his striker's role. "Ian Harte had a sore knee all week, he was just starting to struggle a bit," McCarthy said. "It worked for us. We know that Quinn is about 6-4. It gave us a target. I thought the two smaller lads were being bullied out of it. Quinn gave us a target, something to aim at." The 23-year-old Duff made a number of penetrating runs down the sideline after the move, earning a 61st-minute free kick with one of them. From the dead-ball situation, Irish captain Steve Staunton curled the ball into the box. Defender Gary Breen squeezed between a pair of Saudis and steered the ball home. Ireland's move into the round of 16 represents by far the most satisfying moment for McCarthy in this trying World Cup experience for the coach. Prior to the start of competition, he had his own personal showdown with former Irish captain Roy Keane. That ended with the Manchester United midfielder being sent home and McCarthy insisting that Ireland was capable of advancing without Keane. Ireland has reached the second round in its three World Cup appearances. In its 1990 debut, former coach Jack Charlton led the Republic to the quarterfinals in Italy. Four years later in the United States, Ireland fell to the Netherlands in the second round. |
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