Keane sets new standards
Wednesday, 13 October 2004
By Aidan Fitzmaurice at Landsdowne Road
[1] Robbie Keane broke the Republic of Ireland’s scoring record with both goals in a comfortable 2-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win against the Faroe Islands in Dublin.
Keane delight
[2] The Tottenham Hotspur FC striker came into the game needing only one goal to break the record of 21, jointly held by himself and Niall Quinn. Keane went on to find the net twice in the first half to give him an international tally of 23 goals from 56 games.
Irish go top
[3] The win was the perfect result for the home side after Saturday's 0-0 draw in Paris and moved Ireland to the top of Group 4. Brian Kerr's team next visit Israel on 26 March, while the Faroes are not in competitive action again until they meet Switzerland on 4 June.
Penalty opener
[4] It was one-way traffic for the whole game, with Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given a spectator for the most part. His opposite number Jakup Mikkelsen was a busy man, pulling off a string of saves in the second half to keep the score down. Steve Finnan and Damien Duff went close for Ireland early on before Keane opened the scoring on 13 minutes, converting from the penalty spot after Duff was fouled by Julian Johnsson.
Keane double
[5] The home team continued to threaten, Duff and John O'Shea going close before Keane got his second. Roy Keane started the move in midfield and released Duff, whose cross into the box created confusion between Mikkelsen and Suni Olsen and left Keane free to double the Irish lead on 33 minutes.
Given save
[6] The Faroes were missing key players like Todi Jonsson and Claus Bech Jorgensen and as a result Henrik Laresen's side posed no threat to Given's goal. The Ireland goalkeeper was only called into action on one occasion, dealing with Olsen's free-kick in the 50th minute. Ireland brought on Liam Miller for his competitive debut and the Manchester United FC man was impressive in midfield after replacing left-back John O'Shea, a change that allowed Steve Finnan to drop back from his midfield role.
Late saves
[7] Ireland laid siege to the Faroese goal, roared on by a capacity crowd of 36,000. Mikkelsen made a series of saves to deny scorer Keane twice, with Roy Keane and substitute Gary Doherty also thwarted. The home side had already done enough, however, for a comfortable three points.
Robbie Keane celebrates becoming Ireland's all-time top goalscorer