And so, we inch closer and closer towards the Promised Land of Euro 2012 or at least, the play-off heartache that the Gods have apparently decreed must be our fate every second November. There is something incredibly frustrating about the lengthy gaps between competitive international assignments: the Macedonia joust was our first since October, we’ve got to wait till June for the next one, and then face another three months in limbo.

Thus there’s no time to build up a rhythm, and no sure-fire way of knowing who will or won’t be available (or horribly out of form) when the next one rolls around. Nonetheless, half-way through the Group, the glass is basically half-full. At no point have we looked especially inspired, and on occasion (particularly for the first hour against Russia) we have looked shockingly ropey. Vast stretches of the home game with Andorra were disturbingly uneventful, and even last week’s Macedonia affair contained passages of play which hinted that the return leg over there, in sweltering heat, may be a deeply unpleasant experience.
Against all that, there is no evidence that Russia or Slovakia are capable of running away with the Group either. Taken in isolation, the Ireland-Russia match appeared to indicate that the Russkies are operating on a different footballing planet to our good selves, but the wider evidence of the Group games so far doesn’t back this up. We succeeded where Russia failed in seizing all three points in Armenia (I’ll be surprised if anyone else goes over there and wins) and of course, they also managed to lose at home to the Slovaks. The latter seemed decidedly second-best when we met them in Bratislava, and they look eminently capable of frittering away points against the lesser sides.
Taking all that on board, you would have to say that the recent Macedonia affair was, by and large, a good night’s work. Though it was unnerving to see a dream start fizzle out to the extent that it did, it should be remembered that we started and finished the game pretty strongly, got the points, and looked much the likelier to score again as the clock ticked down.
Certainly, we have cause to be thankful that their goalkeeper Nuredinoski played like a rabbit caught in headlights. Keiren Westwood had to be at his sharpest to keep our noses in front when the aptly-named winger Trichkovski broke through in the second half. But for reasonably long stretches, we passed and retained the ball well, defended competently and didn’t give the prodigiously talented Goran Pandev a sniff.
In the immediate aftermath of the match, there was a highly entertaining spat on RTE between Messrs. Dunphy and Brady, who have never really seemed like natural roommates. Dunphy followed his tried-and-tested routine of seizing on certain players’ non-selection (in this instance, Ciaran Clark and James McCarthy) and basically suggesting that if they were in the starting eleven, all would be well with the world, the goals would surely start to flow, Spain might as well call it a day, and the footballing universe would be ours for the taking.
Brady, not for the first time, cut a stunningly cantankerous figure, angrily seizing on any inference that Trapattoni is doing a less than perfect job. Giles sat back and enjoyed it, surely aware that the truth is somewhere in the middle. Yes, there are indeed one or two issues which Ireland fans are entitled to voice concern about. But now is hardly the time to scream for Trap’s head. True, he is decidedly slow to place his trust in newcomers of any shade, and gives the impression of having rigidly fixed ideas about his preferred line-up. The likes of Clark and Seamus Coleman must be wondering what on earth they need to do to crack the first team. Consistently impressive displays in the Premier League week after week haven’t yet earned them the shirt, while the likes of Kevin Kilbane, Darren O’Dea and Paul Green remain broadly in favour despite plying their trades for Huddersfield, Ipswich and Derby.
So the pertinent question becomes: is Trap getting the most out of the players he opts to select? The jury is still out, but nobody can seriously argue that the team is anything less than well-organised. This has been most evident in the dramatic improvement in Ireland’s results away from home: since Trap took over, we’ve been eking out narrow victories in games we would have drawn three or four years ago (the visits to Armenia, Georgia, Cyprus), and drawing games we might previously have lost (in Italy, Bulgaria and Slovakia).
The manager has been in charge for 17 competitive matches, and we have lost two of them. He hasn’t given us a licence to thrill, and we are by no stretch of the imagination setting the world on fire. But two defeats from 17 speaks for itself. We may go down in flames in Skopje in June, but I’d think it more likely that we’ll come through the fire unscathed. And even the trip to Russia shouldn’t hold any terrors. This team, the hard evidence suggests, is in the right hands, and is moving — slowly, but purposefully — in a positive direction. All we need now is a defensive colossus, a playmaker in the Zidane mould and a 50-goal-a-season predator. The world has been warned.