Search:



The Web

Rediff










 Latest Sports news on mobile: sms SPRT to 7333

Home > Sports > Football > Reuters > Report

Ireland beat Croatia 1-0

November 17, 2004 12:39 IST

Tottenham striker Robbie Keane has extended his Irish goal scoring record with his 24th strike for his country as Ireland beat Croatia 1-0 in a friendly international in Dublin.

The hosts needed goal-line clearances from Liam Miller and Richard Dunne after the break to preserve the lead but overall Ireland deserved their slender win at a windswept Lansdowne Road.

With five minutes gone a mis-hit clearance by Dunne almost let Croatia in, but the Manchester City defender recovered to block Stejpan Tomas's shot before Niko Kranjcar fired wide.

Chelsea winger Damien Duff, at the centre of most of Ireland's best moves, carved out a chance in the 21st minute, exchanging passes with Keane from a short corner before running to the edge of the penalty area and shooting just wide.

Keane should have scored minutes later after being put through in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his lofted shot lacked power and was parried over the bar by Tomislav Butina.

But from the resulting corner on the right, again taken short, Duff wriggled past two defenders before firing in a low cross, and this time Keane made no mistake from close range.

Striker Bosko Balaban, a half-time replacement for Juventus defender Igor Tudor, was denied an equaliser just after the re-start when Miller headed his effort off the line.

With just over an hour gone Keane missed a good chance after being put through by Steve Finnan, and five minutes later Duff hit a post from the Liverpool player's cross.

Nine minutes from time Shay Given, who had only just come on to replace Paddy Kenny in goal, was beaten by Croatia's Brazilian-born striker Eduardo Da Silva but the shot was cleared off the line by Dunne.



Article Tools
Email this article
Top emailed links
Print this article
Write us a letter
Discuss this article



Related Stories


Gudjohnsen hits hat-trick

Chelsea, Man U advance

Man United held in drawn derby








© Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.











Copyright © 2004 rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.