'Special' Duff is key
Andy O’Brien knows the Republic of Ireland cannot afford to lose Damien Duff if they are to achieve their aim of reaching the World Cup finals.
O’Brien was surprisingly handed the man-of-the-match award following last night’s 1-0 friendly victory over Portugal at Lansdowne Road, having married another solid defensive performance with the winning goal.
The Newcastle centre-back appreciated he was “fortunate” to collect the honour, after watching Duff rightly receive a standing ovation from a capacity 44,100 crowd for his captivating 69-minute display.
This may have been a ‘non-competitive’ match, but there is no quarter given with Duff – as Cristiano Ronaldo found to his cost.
After an early verbal exchange and bout of shirt-pulling between the Manchester United and Chelsea wingers, Duff later fouled Ronaldo to earn the first yellow card of the match shortly before his substitution.
Duff was determined to prove who was boss – and in between those two incidents, he put Ronaldo in the shade.
Attacking prowess combined with a willingness to play his part in defence have become characteristics of Duff’s all-out approach, with every Ireland fan praying he stays fit for the remaining six matches of this year’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
“He is very important to our hopes of qualifying,” said O’Brien.
“He was superb last night. He is a fantastic player, a real handful to play against and he is still only young. To play with him is certainly something I prefer to do.
“He has always had a status in football of being a very good player and he is getting his rewards now because he is playing for arguably the biggest club in the Premier League.
“He is getting a lot of the spotlight on him and is producing the goods which everybody knew he could.”
Duff provides plenty of industry too – another point not lost on O’Brien.
“At one point in the game he was left-back, so not only does he go forward but he also defends – and that is a recipe for success,” he said.
“As a defender I can appreciate that. You don’t see it every week, but it’s one of the qualities we have in the squad that everyone busts a gut for everyone else.
“Sometimes that brings a little bit of luck, and I can say I arguably had the luck when it came to scoring the goal – but hard work and working for each other generates those kind of opportunities.
“Obviously, Damien is just one of many important players to us – and if everybody plays their part then we will have a real good go at it. But he is a special player.”
O’Brien’s first goal for his country on his 18th appearance came in the 21st minute with a simple header from inside the six-yard box after John O’Shea had flicked on an Andy Reid corner.
Before and after that, O’Brien was imperious at the back – although he maintains it was not his best defensive display for Ireland.
Nevertheless, if Newcastle manager Graeme Souness took in the game it will be hard to drop the 25-year-old later this month when £8m (€11.6m) transfer-window signing Jean-Alain Boumsong has recovered from a hamstring injury.
“I’m very proud. It is a great moment for me, and it will be a night I will remember for the rest of my life,” enthused O’Brien.
“In the first minute when the ball bobbled off my shin I thought it was going to be one of those nights.
"But I was fortunate to get man of the match, and we kept a clean sheet.
“Defensively I know I’ve played better – not that I’m saying I didn’t do well enough. I always make excuses and never take the plaudits.
“But the performance underlined just what I can do for my club, although I don’t doubt my ability.
“I play around 40 games a year for Newcastle. I don’t want to see that number reduced. I want to better it.”
O’Brien will remain a vital cog for Ireland, who have managed eight clean sheets from the last nine matches he has started.
If Ireland and O’Brien continue that record then they will comfortably reach Germany in 2006. But their passage is by no means easy, with Israel next in group four on Easter Saturday.
“This result puts us on a good footing going to Israel,” added O’Brien.
“We had a lot of highs last year, losing just one of 13 matches. But this year is going to be a different year, so it was important we carried on where we left off.
“Last year was special, and we aim to continue that through 2005 – with the goal to now qualify for the finals and play in the biggest competition in the world.
“Everybody has that carrot in front of them and is chasing that goal and we aim to be there.”
