|
At least Staunton now knows a 3-4-3 line-up is not the way ahead for the European Championship qualifying campaign that starts in Germany on September 2.
However, a back three that included debutant Stephen Kelly and veteran Gary Breen was hardly one that inspired confidence anyway, and the South American side eventually took advantage.
The first goal conceded in the Staunton era came in the 48th minute, with Manuel Ittura scoring his first for his country, stabbing home from six yards following a goalmouth scramble. That forced changes, notably switching to a conventional 4-4-2 line- up, after which Ireland looked more at ease and grew stronger as the game wore on.
On a disappointing night at Lansdowne Road, it was not to be, and so it is a case of back to the drawing board for Staunton.
Ireland vice-captain Given said: "We're disappointed we didn't win the game, or at least get a draw, but it's not the end of the world. The manager at least deserves credit for trying something different. Stan's looking at a few different ideas. It just didn't work out in this game.
"This is not the most important game anyway. It's all about September and getting it right for then. If you can't experiment in a game like this, when can you experiment?"
Newcastle goalkeeper Given added: "Some of our passing was sloppy. I don't know if that was down to the formation, but I just felt we didn't pass the ball well enough. Whatever formation you play, if you don't pass the ball crisply then you will struggle, and a lot of our passes didn't find our own men.
"We only came into it in the last 20 minutes and could have got a goal at the end, but it was all a bit too late. Chile are a decent side. They're not the biggest team, but they are nippy, very good at passing the ball and they made it difficult for us."
Staunton knows he has to try out different ideas, even if the chances to do so are few and far between, but it is very much a case of live and learn.
"We experimented like I said we would," said Staunton, who had looked at new strategies and tactics during a recent four-day training camp in the Algarve.
"We experimented against Sweden and it worked, and we experimented with the 3-4-3 here, but it didn't. It wasn't happening for the boys. But we have learned lessons from it and we know what we can do and what we can't do. These are things we have to know about before we go to Germany and the European Championship campaign begins.
"In the final 20 minutes we played more like I know we can. However, the lads are still very downhearted after that performance. They know they worked really hard over in Portugal and I think they were expecting for it to happen for them again in this game.
"After this, it's a bit of a reality check for them, but I am not too bothered because it's the end of a long, hard season. I'm sure they're going to have a good summer and hopefully that will be the makings of them for next season."
http://www.rte.ie/sport/2006/0525/ireland1.html