Ambition absent as Republic misfire

Poland 0 Republic of Ireland

In a town made famous by its opera festivals the Republic of Ireland brought their own little production. Not only, however, did they lose their tenor before curtain up here at Bydgoszcz, with Roy Keane's withdrawal, they also forgot to provide any drama on the field. They weren't alone. Their hosts, Poland, were equally lacking a harmonious leitmotif and gave little for England, Wales or possibly even Northern Ireland to fear from the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. As a match it was simply discordant.

Perhaps it was always going to be a sideshow with Keane's departure following his sore hamstring and the disapproval of his oh-so-sore manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. To be fair to Ireland's Brian Kerr he also lost another 10 players from his squad and started with just five first choices. A draw, in such circumstances, against a team which had won seven of their last eight - with the lone surprising loss at home to the United States - was respectable if unspectacular.

"Satisfying," was Kerr's circumspect verdict and he was quick to point out that Poland were, effectively, at full strength even if they did make eight substitutions. "I'm sure when it comes to World Cup matches they will do a bit better," he said. "There will be more passion about them. I think they will be a handful."

And so will Ireland but only if they assemble their strongest cast. The match also highlighted the importance of Damien Duff and both Keanes - Robbie as well as Roy - although there was continued encouragement in the solidity of Kenny Cunningham and John O'Shea in a re-worked defence which secured a third clean sheet in four games. It means Kerr has now suffered one defeat in 14 contests. There was also another performance of promise from Andy Reid. The other young tyro, Manchester United-bound Liam Miller, flickered but faded. On this form he has some way to go to meet the huge expectations surrounding him. "It was a big match for a young player," said Kerr.

Beforehand he had described this fixture as an attempt to take his players "out of the comfort zone" after a series of matches in Dublin. Instead they found themselves in the comatose zone. A succession of clumsy fouls punctuated a leaden start. Route one, long balls and little control of the midfield which was marginally the domain of Poland's Miroslav Syzmkowiak. Three times in the opening half-hour he was allowed to shoot from distance. But only once did Shay Given have to make a save.

"We never let them in," said Kerr. The Poles played with a lone striker, the Nigerian-born Emmanuel Olisadebe, who was blocked by a timely tackle from Mark Kinsella as he shaped to shoot and then himself, inadvertently, halted a volley from team-mate Sebastian Mila. For Ireland Alan Lee, aiming to one day fill the not inconsiderable boots of Niall Quinn, hooked a shot wide. And, for 45 minutes, that was it. Even though this stadium is the home ground of Poland's most famous ever player, Zbigniew Boniek, there was little to match his legacy.

Despite England's date with Poland in September there was no Football Association scout present. Probably, given the lack of focus shown by the Poles, that was a sound decision. They are a team of contrasts, failing miserably to qualify for Euro 2004 after storming into the last World Cup before capitulating weakly. They have rallied, beating Italy last autumn, so there was succour for the Irish even if they expected a more aggressive challenge.

After Keane's departure the focus had fallen on Miller who made his first start. He was even given Keane's shirt, No 6. But he was deprived of possession. When he did gain any he used it intelligently.

Unsurprisingly the Poles made three changes at the break although Kerr, probably due to the paucity of his bench, made none. It provided some impetus for the home side, with Given almost caught out by substitute Andrezej Niedzielan as he dallied his clearance, while a speculative effort from Andy Reid sailed over, as did a clearer chance for Miller. Substitute Alan Maybury was quickly into the action, twice clearing with headers from under his own crossbar before clumsily bringing down Szymkowiak.

If anything the game became more ragged. The Irish appeared dishevelled, the Poles disorganised. At the death they appeared to have snatched victory - but a shot from Kamil Kosowski skidded wastefully into the side-netting. Like much before it, it was a mis-hit. "We were a little bit short," admitted Kerr honestly.

POLAND (4-5-1): Dudek (Liverpool); Zewlakow (Anderlecht); Glowacki (Wisla Krakow), Klos (Wisla Krakow), Rzasa (Partizan Belgrade); Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk), Mila (Groclin Dyskobolia), Szymkowiak (Wisla Krakow), Zurawski (Wisla Krakow), Krzynowek (Nuremburg); Olisadebe (Panathinaikos). Substitutions: Niedzielan (Nijmegen) for Olisadebe, h-t; Hajto (Schalke 04) for Glowacki, h-t; Kosowski (Kaiserslautern) for Krzynowek, h-t; Boruc (Legia Warsaw) for Dudek, 58; Smolarek (Feyenoord) for Mila, 66; Bosacki (Lech Poznan) for Klos, 80; Kaczorowski (Lech Poznan) for Zewlakow, 84; Radomski (Heerenven) for Szymkowiak, 85.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (4-4-2): Given (Newcastle United); O'Shea (Manchester United), Cunningham (Birmingham City), Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur), Harte (Leeds United); S Reid (Blackburn Rovers), Kinsella (West Bromwich Albion), Miller (Celtic), A Reid (Nottingham Forest); Morrison (Birmingham City), Lee (Cardiff City). Substitutions: Maybury (Hearts) for Harte, 64; Barrett (Coventry City) for Lee, 64; Colgan (Hibernian) for Given, 70; O'Brien (Newcastle United) for Doherty, 81; Douglas (Blackburn Rovers) for Reid, 81; Byrne (Shelbourne) for Morrison, 89.

Referee: S Shebek (Ukraine)