GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI WILL hope to see net gains rather than a fish out of water when Conor Sammon makes his international debut tonight.
Dubbed “the Sammon of College” during his UCD days, the Derby County marksman joins fellow League of Ireland graduate Shane Long up front for tonight’s Aviva Stadium friendly against Poland.
With Kevin Doyle, Jon Walters, Simon Cox and Andy Keogh all forced to make do with a place on the bench, Sammon now has a chance to stake his claim among the many strikers vying for Trap’s attention.
The 26-year-old has made 30 appearances for Nigel Clough’s Derby this season, vindicating his decision to leave Wigan Athletic and the Premier League in the pursuit of first-team football.
He wasn’t among the goals when Trapattoni showed up at two league games last month to check up on him and club-mates Jeff Hendrick and Richard Keogh, who are set to make their senior debuts from the bench tonight.
But the Italian saw something that he liked — a big, bustling centre-forward who can hold up the ball but also has the pace to cause defenders trouble. Caleb Folan was the first player to come to mind by way of comparison at yesterday’s pre-match press conference.
“Usually these big players, they are not so agile,” Trapattoni said.
He’s also sensible with the ball. I think he can defend the ball very well up front and also be very quick when attacking the defence.
He added: “When our defenders are under pressure from the opponents, they need this support.”
By teaming Sammon with the dangerous threat of Long, the plan is to create another outlet to relieve pressure and also open up the play, bringing wingers Robbie Brady and James McClean into the action.
“One is fast and dangerous,” Trap said of his strikeforce. “The other is also quick and can defend the ball. I think they are a good combination.”
John O’Shea, captain again tomorrow night in the absence of Robbie Keane, backed Trap’s new-look double act to cause problems.
I think the Polish defence, especially with Longy and Conor starting up front, will have a very tough start to the game. From what they’ve shown in training, they won’t let the defenders rest on the ball and there’s massive pressure they put on the defenders.Hopefully that will give us a chance to get up the pitch and squeeze the game a bit more and take the game to Poland.
From Sammon’s perspective, a more flattering moment may have come when O’Shea was asked to compare him to two Irish greats of yesteryear, Tony Cascarino and Niall Quinn. In the question, as in Trapattoni’s decision to leave his only true creative threat Wes Hoolahan on the bench, there is a slight concern that Sammon could end up filling in as target man for more direct tactics.
“I think he’s probably a little bit more nimble than two fantastic players in Cascarino and Quinn,” O’Shea said.
“Fingers crossed it works tomorrow but we know the backup we have with Wes to come on, Jonathan Walters, Kevin Doyle, Andy Keogh — there’s good options for the manager.”
As indicated all week, Milwall goalkeeper David Forde is given his chance to audition for the number one jersey ahead of next month’s crunch qualifers against Sweden and Austria, while Bristol City defender Greg Cunningham will make his first senior appearance since a friendly against Norway more than two years ago.
Wigan’s James McCarthy, the only player to start every game since Ireland’s disastrous Euro 2012 exit, wins his 10th cap as he joins Glenn Whelan in midfield, flanked by Robbie Brady and James McClean.
“Maybe I also tomorrow I could have [picked] Hendrick but I say always that James McCarthy must play because he must grow,” Trapattoni said.
“We couldn’t change 11 in this friendly but the first thing is that the team grows and also the result. We need to improve the rankings. With good results, the players keep confidence and trust.”
Ireland (vs Poland): David Forde; Paul McShane, John O’Shea (c), Ciaran Clark, Greg Cunningham; Robbie Brady, James McCarthy, Glenn Whelan, James McClean; Shane Long, Conor Sammon.
