A 2-1 victory over a full-strength Australia side made Kerr’s team look at their two remaining Euro 2004 qualifiers with renewed optimism. But their optimism was short-lived as a 1-1 draw against a very tricky Russia side made Ireland’s trip to Basle a make-or-break encounter.
With the hype surrounding young Corkman Liam Miller, who was blossoming in the Celtic first team, Mission Impossible seemed quite possible at least for some Irish fans. Brian Kerr didn’t opt for the inexperienced Miller but with the extent of the horrendous performance Ireland gave it is doubtful Miller would have been able to give the team the spark it so desperately needed. Ireland were dire and crashed 2-0 With centre-back Kenny Cunningham acting as captain, Ireland lacked an influential figure on all corners of the pitch.
Irish football, which failed to build on the relatively good showing in Japan, needed a revamp. Brian Kerr duly obliged and he wanted to show that Ireland could still match World football’s bigshots. No sooner did the Irish boss state this then a friendly was arranged with Turkey, the worlds’ 3rd best team if the 2002 World Cup was to go by.
A very admirable 2-2 using a side missing usual certainties such as Shay Given, Robbie Keane, Kenny Cunningham and John O’Shea. Many more high profile friendlies were to follow but Brian Kerr was finally starting to make strides in an area that Mick McCarthy failed to do in is latter years as Irish coach. That was to ditch the loyal veterans and bring some fresh young legs.
Let's face it Mark Kinsella and Lee Carsley weren’t getting any younger and as time progressed it seemed matches flew by them faster and faster. Irish football was about to witness the end of a very patchy era and the beginning of a hopefully smooth one.
Results:
Ireland 2 Australia 1 Lansdowne Road
Ireland 1 Russia 1 Lansdowne Road
Ireland 2 Turkey 2 Lansdowne Road
Switzerland 2 Ireland 0 St. Jakobs Stadium