Trapattoni lauds Westwood’s display but Ireland’s number one spot is wide open

Westwood has all the abilities to be number one with Ireland.

Giovanni Trapattoni heaped praise on Keiren Westwood following last night’s 0-0 draw in Serbia, touting him as a long-term replacement for Shay Given.

Trapattoni was happy enough with last night’s stalemate, which is predictable enough for an Italian manager, but bemoaned Ireland’s lack of fitness.

Ireland started off sprightly in the first half but as the second half wore on the team began to trundle, so perhaps a draw is a happy enough assessment from an Irish view.

Plenty of players were played in different positions and four substitutions were made but perhaps it says a lot for Trapattoni’s faith in Westwood that the Sunderland player played the full 90.

Westwood is an assured goalkeeper and he has proved it on numerous occasions for both club and country.

The 26 year old was a revelation at Carlisle when he burst onto the scene a few years back and even ask any Coventry fan and they will tell you this guy is the definition of a safe pair of hands.

Safe pair of hands he may be, but whether Ireland can afford to play a goalkeeper who has been sitting on the bench for the majority of his Premier League career is another matter.

When Joe Hart ousted Shay Given from the Manchester City prime spot the Donegal man’s international career suffered for it, not to mention his club one obviously.

Shay Given & Keiren Westwood don’t compare, so if it was tough for the fantastic Given to play at full match sharpness when on Ireland duty what will it be like for Westwood if he continues on the Sunderland bench?

Westwood has the ability; he can kick, he can catch, punch and stop the finest of attacks but he needs to play and last season Simon Mignolet was number one for Sunderland and we haven’t seen much in pre-season to say otherwise.

There are plenty of challengers to Westwood’s still unclaimed crown such as Darren Randolph and David Forde, both of whom were on the bench in Belgrade last night.

There is also Joe and Brian Murphy of Coventry City and Queen’s Park Rangers, although the latter is in the same situation as Westwood as he may be playing second fiddle to Radek Cerny this season.

Finally we have Stephen Henderson, nephew of Wayne, the goalkeeper from that infamous night in San Marino all those years ago.

Stephen Henderson signed a 3 year contract with West Ham in May just gone but Sam Allardyce’s signature of the experienced Jussi Jaaskelainen looks set to keep Henderson out in the cold this season.

Given will be sorely missed as Irish goalkeeping enters a transitional phase.

So it’s clear to see there is plenty of talent in the goalkeeping department, including three Premier League goalkeepers mentioned.

However none of them are regulars and there isn’t much difference between the lads playing regularly in The Championship and a benchwarmer from the Premier League.

For the first few games of this qualifying campaign Westwood deserves to be number one, but as the campaign progresses he needs to be playing regular football be that at Sunderland or elsewhere.

If others are playing consistently at a decent level in The Championship or even the Premier League then of course they have to be given their chance.

Westwood is not Shay Given; he is not immune from being dropped and if he isn’t playing at a good level, which in turn will keep him razor sharp, then he should make way but only if others are performing above him or his level.

Keiren Westwood is the best of a transitional bunch for Ireland right now and hopefully he forces his way onto the Sunderland starting eleven this season.

Everyone would love the 26 year old to kick on and mature into a great of Ireland and the North East like his predecessor.

If that doesn’t happen then the door should be open far and wide as there are plenty of candidates performing to a similar level currently.

Ireland’s number one spot could turn out to be the most interesting running story of the World Cup qualifying campaign, it is still most definitely up for grabs.

 

Related articles

• Live Sport Reports: Ireland ‘in safe hands’ with Westwood (walesonline.co.uk)
• Trapattoni lauds Westwood display (bbc.co.uk)
• Serbia 0-0 Republic of Ireland (setanta.com)
• Ireland Goalkeeper Given Quits Internationals (nytimes.com)

O’Neill shouldn’t dwell on thriller in Belfast

Ferguson’s strike was the highlight of the night for Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland drew 3-3 with Finland in a thriller last night at Windsor Park despite being two goals to the good in the first 20 minutes.

The game was Michael O’Neill‘s first result as manager following two defeats to Norway and Holland in his first games in charge.

O’Neill will be disappointed at drawing a game his team were well ahead in, but it wasn’t all doom in gloom in Belfast last night as there were as many good points as there were bad.

Shane Ferguson popped up with his first international goal for the senior team, this coming just over a year after his Northern Ireland career looked dead in the water following controversial spats with former manager Nigel Worthington.

Ferguson looked a threat all night although he did fade slightly in the second half, but O’Neill will be delighted at the Derry man’s efforts on the left wing.

The Newcastle United player’s goal was a sight to behold, as a ball across the box from Dean Shiels fell to Ferguson who let the ball get away from him slightly before unleashing a left-footed half volley into the top corner of Niki Maenpaa’s goal.

Martin Paterson had a double delight as the Burnley player’s equaliser in the 84th minute was also his first in the green and white of Northern Ireland.

Paterson had played 13 international games before last night but he finally got off the mark with a well taken penalty after he had been fouled in the box.

O’Neill will also take comfort from the fact his team scored a trio of goals last night, but as Stephen Craigan said during the post-match analysis they could have scored more than three.

Other plus points for O’Neill were the assured fulcrum role played by Steven Davis, who kept the ball ticking over in the Northern Ireland engine room, and the team’s insatiable appetite to attack the Finnish rearguard.

O’Neill will be happy with Davis’ display as the captain will play a major role in the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign and the manager will take solace from the first ‘point’ of his reign.

A 3-3 draw is always going to have it’s bad points however and there were plenty last night also, but we can perhaps put many of them down to this friendly taking place during ‘pre-season’ for many of the players.

Only a few including Dean Shiels and Andrew Little have played competitive football yet this season and Shiels was a livewire all night, walking away with the man of the match award.

Dean Shiels impressed last night.

But Northern Ireland were also sloppy at times, especially in midfield, as a stray Chris Brunt backpass for Finland’s second epitomised that.

Shipping three goals will also have irked boss O’Neill as he knows if his team are to have any chance of causing an upset or two in the upcoming campaign they have to be miserly at the back.

Too many times last night players were caught out of position and stray balls were frustrating O’Neill but at least he knows he has plenty he can work on before September’s double header.

As with any international friendly, the substitutions served to dilute the ferocity of the opening 20 minutes but Northern Ireland battled to the end and were just about worth their draw, although it could have been 10-10.

Windsor Park saw plenty of empty seats last night but the friendly was more for O’Neill and his players and not quite the fans, but having said that those who did turned up gave the team plenty of support.

Last night’s game was an entertaining friendly and Michael O’Neill will leave it behind now as he looks forward and on to September, when his Northern Ireland team begin their journey on the road to Rio.

Related articles

• National Sport: N.Ireland draw in Finland thriller (coventrytelegraph.net)
• O’Neill willing to stick with Rangers duo (fifa.com)
• Michael O’Neill happy with Northern Ireland’s 3-3 draw against Finland (guardian.co.uk)
• O’Neill happy to see goals go in (standard.co.uk)