Steve Staunton suffered his first defeat as Republic of Ireland manager following a dismal performance against Chile at Lansdowne Road on Wednesday night, with the visitors enjoying the vast bulk of the scoring chances as Ireland laboured throughout.

Staunton went into the game on the crest of a wave following a fine team performance in defeating Sweden at Lansdowne in March.

But the aura of confidence was shattered by the final whistle as Chile came away with a win which could easily have been more emphatic.

The only goal of the game came from Manuel Iturra early in the second half as the boys in green put in an inept performance in front of a near sell-out crowd at the old stadium.

Staunton took the opportunity to experiment, starting with a 3-4-1-2 system with Gary Breen, Richard Dunne and debutant Stephen Kelly as central defenders, Liam Miller and John O’Shea flanked by Steven Reid and Kevin Kilbane in midfield and Damien Duff and captain Robbie Keane supporting Kevin Doyle up front.

But it quickly became apparent that the Irish players were uncomfortable in a formation few would have experienced at club level.

Kelly, winning his first senior cap, looked ill at ease in the first half, perhaps understandably so given the magnitude of the occasion on a personal level and the fact that, as a specialist right back, he was asked to play marginally out of position in a three-man central defence.

The Spurs defender, out of contract this summer and hoping to use the game as a chance to impress would-be employers, was guilty of a slack backpass early in the game, gifting possession to Reinaldo Navia but Shay Given rushed off his line to force the Chile forward wide and the chance passed.
Mark Gonzalez, the winger hoping to make an impact at Liverpool next season when the red tape surrounding his move from Spain is finally sorted out, skipped past the challenge of Kelly in the 19th minute to force Given into a decent stop.

Luis Jimenez brought saves from Given on two occasions before the break while Gonzalez cracked a shot off the post as Chile enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Ireland’s best opportunity of the first half fell to Robbie Keane, but his dinked finish lacked conviction and Chile keeper Claudio Bravo saved comfortably.

Little changed at the start of the second half, with Humberto Suazo forcing Given into another stop before the deadlock was finally broken by Iturra in the 48th minute.

Steven Reid gave away possession and was then guilty of fouling Jimenez outside the area, an indiscretion which earned the Irish midfielder a yellow card.

The free kick from Gonzalez was deflected by the wall into the goal-mouth; Richard Dunne was unable to clear and Iturra was on hand to poke the ball to the Irish net to give the visitors a fully deserved lead.

Ireland responded with some sense of urgency but they were unable to find a leveller, with Richard Dunne heading over from Ian Harte’s dead-ball delivery and Damien Duff forcing a save from Bravo ahead Jason Byrne’s lay-off.

Byrne, the Shelbourne striker winning his second senior cap, didn’t look out of place and created another chance moments later, but his first cousin Keane was unable to take maximum advantage.

And Chile could well have added a second before the finish, the lively Gonzalez twice coming close to doubling the advantage as the Staunton honeymoon came to an end with a bump.

Republic of Ireland: Given - Kelly, Dunne, Breen – Miller, O’Shea, S. Reid, Kilbane – Duff – Doyle, Keane.

Chile: Bravo, Jara, Contreras, Vargas, Olarra, Iturra, Acuna, Jimenez, Gonzalez, Navia, Suazo.
Referee: M. Ingvarsson (Sweden).