Abby Brammell

By Simon Cass

Prefect penalty: Robbie Keane send the keeper the wrong way to seal impressive victory


According to manager Rabah Saadane, the principal objective for Algeria in South Africa is 'not to be ridiculous'.

There will be no fear of that, even if their performance against the Republic last night did little to suggest an upset against England in their second Group C game.

An opening goal from Paul Green and two more by Robbie Keane were enough to dent Algeria's preparations.


And when the likes of Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard sit down to watch the DVD of this one, they will fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet.

In fairness to Algeria, they were forced to field a weakened side after flying in from their Swiss base with plenty of bumps and bruises They were without Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra, who has been struggling with a long-standing calf injury.

Bougherra, who has been making positive noises about Algeria's ability to make it out of the group stages, is confident he will be fit to face Slovenia on June 13.

Also missing against the Republic were key players such as midfielder Hassan Yebda, who spent last season on loan at Portsmouth from Benfica, and defender Antar Yahia, whose stunning volley in the hot-tempered play-off against Egypt sealed Algeria's place in South Africa.

But the team that played in the historic win over Egypt in November were well represented, with Portsmouth's Nadir Belhadj, midfielders Karim Ziani and Yazid Mansouri, defender Rafi Halliche, striker Abdelkader Ghezaal and goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi all starting at the ramshackle RDS Arena.


Two easy: Robbie Keane loops the ball into the empty net


Chaouchi will not be available until the final group game against the USA after being suspended for butting a referee during the Africa Cup of Nations - remarkably he received only a yellow card at the time. The Algeria l ine -up ensured Fabio Capello's trusted lieutenant Franco Baldini did not have a wasted journey.

And if the England camp were under any illusions about the atmosphere that will await them in Cape Town then the presence of, officially, 2,500 fanat i cal Alge r i a supporters here gave a taste of what lies in store. Saadane gave first starts to Djamel Mesbah and Habib Ballaid, along with Wolves right back Adlene Guedioura, whom Baldini will have noted for his strength, pace and ability to get forward.

Goalscoring has been a problem for the Algerians, who managed only four in six Africa Cup of Nations games.


Pain game: Ireland's Paul Green blocks a free kick from Algeria's Rafik Mbolhi


But close attention will n eed to be paid to Rafik Djebbour, whose ability in the air and physical presence gave some concern to the Irish back four. Where England will be able to cause plenty of damage will be with balls into the box, something which became more apparent as the first half wore on.

Chaouchi may be good with his head but the keeper was none too clever when it came to crosses and set-pieces. His deficiencies were compounded by poor marking by his defenders, a factor which led to the opener.

A needless foul by Mansouri on Kevin Doyle led to a free-kick and as Liam Lawrence whipped the ball in, widespread indecision in the Algeria defence allowed Derby midfielder Green to stoop and head home on his first start for his country.

Keane doubled Ireland's advantage 12 minutes after the restart as Algeria's inability to deal with balls into the box was exposed once more. Damien Duff was allowed space to cross and the Spurs striker, who later hit the post, took full advantage of a poor punch by Chaouchi to loop the ball into the empty net.

Keane made it 3-0 from the spot after being fouled by Mesbah with five minutes left.


source: dailymail