Ireland overcome Italy

Keith Andrews and Simon Cox teamed up to fire Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland to a 2-0 victory over his native country Italy yesterday.

The Blackburn midfielder’s sweet 36th-minute strike and a second from substitute Cox at the death secured a fourth successive win for Ireland and extended Trapattoni’s unbeaten record against the team he once managed to three games.

Once again, Ireland’s industry and commitment saw them through against technically more gifted opponents despite nine changes to the side which defeated Macedonia in Skopje at the weekend.

Cesare Prandelli’s men may have dominated possession but they failed to make the most of it and when the chances came their way, the Irishmen took them with some aplomb in front of a crowd of 21,516.

The Italians oozed class on a pitch made slick by persistent rain, with Andrea Pirlo and Riccardo Montolivo orchestrating things behind the front two and right-back Mattia Cassani playing almost as an auxiliary winger.

But for all the pressure they mounted before the break, Ireland keeper David Forde did not have a save of any note to make during the opening 45 minutes.

Pazzini shot wastefully wide from a tight angle with 25 minutes gone after being played in by Claudio Marchisio, and Antonio Nocerino blasted a long-range effort inches over the crossbar two minutes later.

However, it was Ireland who took the lead when Alessandro Gamberini was penalised for the latest in a series of fouls on Long 25 yards out, and Hunt shaped to curl the free-kick towards goal.

But he instead tapped the ball sideways to Andrews, whose skidding shot was firm and true as it flew past the diving Emiliano Viviano and into the bottom corner.

Prandelli made a double change at the break as Pirlo and Giuseppe Rossi made way for Angelo Palombo and Alessandro Matri, but the pattern of the first half was largely repeated during the early stages of the second.

Matri shot across goal with 54 minutes gone after Pazzini, who was sent off three minutes into the World Cup qualifier in Bari last April, had expertly turned Cassani’s driven pass into his path.

Italy threw everything they had at Ireland as the clock ran down but substitute Sebastian Giovinco’s 86th-minute free-kick, which only just cleared the crossbar, was as close as they came to snatching a draw.

However, their hopes were finally dashed at the death when Cox made ground to get on to the end of Hunt’s cross to seal a creditable victory.