Giovanni’s Gamble On Long Depends On Form Holding Up

Ireland boss Giovanni Trappatoni has gone with form in the selection for the crucial match against the Slovaks at Landsdowne Road tomorrow night by picking West Bromwich Albion front man Shane Long to partner skipper Robbie Keane of LA Galaxy as the strike-force- leaving Kevin Doyle on the bench.

Keane, Long, Shay Given & John O’Shea have all moved clubs during the summer in a quest to play more matches – a positive sign for the Irish set up. Given’s move to Aston Villa should re-ignite his reputation as a top keeper after an appalling time sat on the bench at cash rich Manchester City, while O’Shea’s move to the Stadium Of Light will benefit the Irish as he’s set to be Sunderland’s talisman in defence.

The full starting XI are :
Shay Given, John O’Shea, Richard Dunne, Sean St Ledger, Stephen Ward, Damien Duff, Keith Andrews, Glenn Whelan, Aiden McGeady, Robbie Keane and Shane Long.

James McCarthy joins up with the squad after the Under21 match against Hungary in Sligo & may well feature at some stage of the senior double header over the next five days.

The Republic are involved in a dogfight for automatic qualification in the group and need to win to keep pace with Tuesday’s opponents Russia who are currently vying with Ireland for the top spot. The two sides meet in the Luzniki Stadium early next week- a place which has never been the happiest of hunting grounds for the boys in green. Kick-Off fro both matches is at 7:45pm.

Bob "The Voice" McKenzie Twitter: @BobTheVoice About: