We Must Turn the Aviva Into a Fortress ; First Fixture Is Little More Than a Gift to the Fai but Ireland Must Be Ruthless Just Like Their Rivals [Eire Region]

Summary

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THE FAI could hardly have wished for an easier game as Ireland's first competitive fixture inside the Aviva Stadium. In the absence of any real glamour team within Group B, a goalrush against the part- timers of Andorra can set the tone for a successful period inside Irish football's new home.

And Andorra's recent record shows how absurd the widespread belief that there are no easy games in international football any more is. In their qualifying campaign for this year's World Cup, when they were in the same group as England, the parttimers conceded 39 goals and 23 of those came away from home. While they can offer stubborn resistance in the Pyrenees (they held England goalless for the first half in the last campaign), Andorran defenders do not appear to travel well.

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We Must Turn the Aviva Into a Fortress ; First Fixture Is Little More Than a Gift to the Fai but Ireland Must Be Ruthless Just Like Their Rivals [Eire Region]

The margins are likely to be extremely tight in Group B. It's not inconceivable that Russia, Slovakia and Ireland could all finish on the same number of points; goal difference could be the decisive factor in Ireland making their fi...

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