SOCCER WORLD CUP QUALIFYING GROUP EIGHT:IN THE wake of Wednesday's dramatic draw in Bari, Giovanni Trapattoni says he will use the friendly game against Nigeria next month to cast an eye over a number of fringe players before settling on a more familiar line up for the qualifier on June 6th in Sofia.

Having played for almost half an hour against the world champions, Noel Hunt may well fancy his chances of getting a first international start at Craven Cottage but in the meantime he clearly reckons he has some unfinished business in relation to the Italian game, with the 26-year-old striker insisting he will pursue his claim to Ireland’s late equaliser.

Hunt said after the match he believed his had been the last touch and that he had told Robbie Keane the goal was his during the celebrations. Keane, he said, simply laughed and gave the firm impression subsequently that he believed the goal was his but, when speaking on a Waterford radio station (WLR) yesterday, Hunt insisted he is not about to let the matter lie.

“There was a knock-on,” he said. “I got myself in between the defender and the ball and as I slipped I poked it and it went into back of the net. Robbie was coming in from the other side and he kicked into me. I think he was just going for the ball as well.

“It was only my second cap and to score against the world champions, I can never forget that. I am going to look into how it is looked at, what channels you have got to go through, through Uefa and stuff and see what happens because I do firmly believe it was my goal.” If Keane’s approach was to laugh the claim off then Trapattoni’s reaction was somewhat similar when he was asked for his views on the matter yesterday.

“There are certain players who are very enthusiastic,” he started, somewhat ominously. “For example, Stephen (Hunt) for five minutes was wondering; “where am I?” after he was hit in the head by the ball. He and his brother are very similar. They have so much enthusiasm and we needed that mentality against Italy,” he continued. “Like David against Goliath, our heart is important. So he (Noel) was happy . . . but,” he concluded, chuckling slightly and shaking his head, “it was Robbie Keane who scored the goal.”

Television replays are rather less conclusive with Keane appearing the more likely scorer from side on, while footage taken from behind the goal tends to suggest Hunt did indeed bag his first international goal by getting his shot away before Giorgio Chiellini could make a block.

The matter will be of more than academic interest to punters with at least one major bookmaking firm, Boylesports, promising in advance of the game to refund losing single bets in the event that Keane found the net over the course of the 90 minutes.

If it was Hunt who scored then, it might adversely affect those who haven’t claimed their money back yet but it would also underline the success of changes made by the manager during the game. In addition to Hunt, Darron Gibson looked assured after replacing Keith Andrews in midfield and Caleb Folan made a significant impact – culminating in the header he won to set up the goal – in his third international outing.

Only last weekend, Trapattoni faced criticism in the wake of the draw against Bulgaria over his reluctance to change his team when things were going poorly but here he acted decisively to reshape not only his side but the contest as a whole with the introduction of Folan and the tactical changes that accompanied it coming just 22 minutes in. The move started to pay dividends almost immediately and the visitors were further boosted when Marcello Lippi reacted by replacing Andrea Pirlo with the more defensive Angelo Palombo at half-time. “There are moments a coach needs to take a stone,” he said, “and throw it at the water so that: Boom! Everything changes. My job is to understand and correct the situation depending on what I see. We were 1-0 down so we needed to recover the result at that moment and I saw in that moment that we needed them (the changes).

“Folan is big and some of the deflections he created gave us good chances, even before the goal in the last few minutes. Also, I saw that Italy in midfield had one player more and with Keane a little bit back behind the striker we could play better against that. Hunt for Doyle, was because I thought Kevin was a little bit tired. I saw him the previous week when it was work, work, work so he was not fresh.” Pirlo’s departure, he speculated, may have been down to injury or tiredness but there was also the suspicion that, with his side down to 10 men and Ireland increasingly anxious to get forward, Lippi simply wanted to close up shop.

“We were 10 against 11,” he said, “and I thought at the moment: “maybe he will add a little bit more protection in midfield.” But I thought also that Pirlo was a little bit injured.”

Overall, though, Trapattoni insists Ireland got no more than they have deserved from their outings to date and that with the table as it stands the world champions will be wary of the Irish over the course of the run in.

“I am Italian and it’s not easy for me to say but Italy, in two games, were a bit lucky and, even if they created that luck themselves, they have some difficult games coming up. Qualifying will not be easy for any team. though, it’s a test of balance, strength, psychology and results. We are not inferior to Italy.”

IRELAND’S LAST FIVE CAMPAIGNS: HOW TRAPATTONI COMPARES

2002

PW D L F A Pts

6 4 2 0 15 14 14

After early draws against their main two rivals, Mick McCarthy’s team went on to finish second in their group behind Portugal but ahead of The Netherlands after a dramatic 1-0 win over the Dutch in the Lansdowne Road. A play-off victory over Iran meant qualification for the World Cup finals.

2004

PWDLFAPts

6 3 1 2 9 8 10

The Irish made a disastrous start to the European Championship campaign, suffering dramatic defeats in Russia and at home to Switzerland. Brian Kerr succeeded McCarthy and the team took 10 points from the next 12 in games against Georgia and Albania but his side could take just one point from the late reverse ties against its major rivals and finished four points behind the Swiss and three off second place.

2006

P W D L F A Pts

6 2 4 0 9 4 10

In this World Cup campaign there are draws against the other main contenders but the performance and result in Paris generates a fair bit of optimism. It’s blown, though, in games five and six, both of which are against Israel with Ireland surrendering a lead on each occasion. Kerr’s team eventually finishes fourth, three points adrift of France and one behind the Swiss and Israelis.

2008

P W D L F A Pts

6 3 1 2 11 8 10

The 10-point tally was achieved on this occasion in no small part due to two wins (one of them narrow) over San Marino. The Irish eventually finished third in this European Championship group, 12 and 10 points behind the Germans and Czechs respectively.

2010

P W D L F A Pts

6 3 3 0 7 4 12

Under Giovanni Trapattoni the team’s results have undergone a small but significant improvement. Wednesday’s draw in Bari keeps Ireland’s unbeaten record in tact but half of the their 12 points to date have come from wins home and away over bottom placed Georgia and the draw at home to Bulgaria looks a missed opportunity to match the start made in 2000/01.