Duff despairs at Ireland's meekness amid bedlam

There was something primal in the scream from Damien Duff. "We should maybe be more like Israel," he said. "Slowing things down, diving, what-have-you. We need to be more nasty at times."

There was something primal in the scream from Damien Duff. "We should maybe be more like Israel," he said. "Slowing things down, diving, what-have-you. We need to be more nasty at times."

His emotions were raw. And so were those of his nation after this astonishing, brutal, maddening draw which caused severe damage to the Republic of Ireland's chances of qualifying for next year's World Cup in Germany and further fractured the hold the manager Brian Kerr has on his job.

It should never have been. Two goals ahead after 11 minutes, through Ian Harte's free-kick and a sublimely executed volley by Robbie Keane, and the Irish were showboating to cries of "easy, easy" and dreaming of scoring the five they needed to head Group Four, the tightest of all qualifying groups.

And then all hell broke loose. The sequence was amazing. Off went Keane with a shoulder injury - sustained when he should have earned a penalty - which may rule him out of Wednesday's qualifier away to the Faroe Islands. On came Graham Kavanagh, a holding midfielder, in a typical act of Kerr conservatism. Duff went forward, Ireland were unbalanced and the initiative swung to Israel. They scored with a header, after poor marking, and then, on half-time, earned a dubious, three-times taken penalty after John O'Shea was adjudged to have fouled Yossi Benayoun when, in truth, it was probably a free-kick the other way.

"Two silly goals," Duff said. "It's been the story of our campaign so far." For the third time the Irish had surrendered a lead.

It got decidedly worse. And worse. Into the chaos stepped Dudu Awat, the Israel goalkeeper, who mixed appalling theatrics and shocking gamesmanship - which led to Andy O'Brien being sent off (an appeal could be heard tomorrow) - with bewildering saves. Somehow he blocked an O'Shea header, somehow he blocked Duff's close-range shot and somehow the Chelsea winger headed out from on the Israeli goal-line. It was frantic. It was bedlam.

Then there was Kyros Vassaras. As experienced as he is - even if Kerr later questioned his credentials and pointedly said the observer will have taken note - the Greek referee simply lost control amid the din. "He made some awful decisions," Duff said. "It's hard to believe some of them," O'Shea added.

As was the result and the Irish performance. For all the distractions, for all the understandable sense of injustice and downright bad luck, they threw it away. "For a few years now we just haven't known how to kill off games," Duff said. "We were in a comfortable position, but the game is always not over. I think it's about time we started learning from these things."

Afterwards the suspended Roy Keane spoke in the dressing-room. There were words of encouragement, "positive things", Kerr said. He too tried to remain upbeat. "When reality sets in, and when they see the table and the possibilities, we'll be back and we'll be right." Maybe.

Goals: Harte (6) 1-0; Keane (11) 2-0; Yehiel (39) 2-1; Nimni pen (45) 2-2.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (4-4-2): Given (Newcastle United); O'Shea (Manchester United), O'Brien (Newcastle), Cunningham (Birmingham City), Harte (Levante); Duff (Chelsea), Holland (Charlton Athletic), Kilbane (Everton), Reid; Robbie Keane (both Tottenham Hotspur), Morrison (Birmingham). Substitutes: Kavanagh (Wigan Athletic) for Keane, 27; Doherty (Norwich City) for Reid, 64.

ISRAEL (5-3-1-1): Awat; Yehiel, Benado, Gershon, Saban, Keisi; Suan, Tal, Nimni; (Golan, 78); Benayoun; Katan (Balili, 66).

Referee: K Vassaras (Greece)

Booked: Ireland O'Shea, Duff; Israel Yehiel, Tal, Katan, Balili, Golan, Awat, Benayoun.

Sent off: O'Brien (83).

Man of the match: Benayoun.

Attendance: 36,000.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 2

ISRAEL 2