Doyle delighted with victory
Republic of Ireland striker Kevin Doyle admitted he had hoped for more goals in his side’s 5-0 victory over San Marino at Lansdowne Road tonight.
Steve Staunton’s unwanted run of five matches without a victory finally came to an end with an expected triumph over a side with a reputation of being the worst in Europe.
Captain Robbie Keane took his record tally to 29 goals with the first hat-trick of his international career in the Euro 2008 qualifier.
The Tottenham striker was joined on the score sheet by Doyle, the Reading forward netting his first for his country on his fifth appearance, with the easy win initiated by an own goal from Davide Simoncini.
“To get the win firstly and five goals was the least we would have expected. More would have been nice but we’re pretty happy with five,” Doyle told Sky Sports.
“It’s nice to score my first goal. It’s a relief more than anything to get it out of the way and hopefully now I’ll score more.
“It’s just nice to get a first win and take the pressure of us.”
Hat-trick scorer Keane admitted his haul was the perfect way to bid farewell to Lansdowne Road.
“I thought we played very well and moved the ball quite well. We knew it was important to keep the ball moving as fast as we could and that’s why we got our goals,” he told Sky Sports One.
“It’s always nice to score early. Once we got that goal we knew the pressure was off us and we could play with a bit more freedom.
“It’s always nice to score goals and I’ve always wanted to score a hat-trick for Ireland. To do it in the last game at Lansdowne Road was fitting.”
