Goalscoring Start For Green

Paul Green scored on his first start for the Republic of Ireland last night as they beat World Cup qualifiers Algeria 3-0 in Dublin. Green opened the scoring with a diving header on 31 minutes, taking a blow to the head in the process of scoring, and further goals from Robbie Keane rounded off a straight forward victory for the Irish. Talking to the official website of the Irish Football Association (www.fai.ie) after the match he commented:

'I can't remember much about the goal, it was a diving header but I didn't know it had gone into the net until Robbie Keane and Liam Lawrence started slapping my face as I lay on the ground."

'I wasn't knocked out but there was a split-second when I didn't know where the ball had gone."

The Rams midfielder completed the full 90 minutes and pleased both manager Giovanni Trappatoni and captain Robbie Keane both of whom praised the player after the match. Trappatoni was pleased with both Green and fellow newcomer Greg Cunningham in his post match comments:

'We started the game with conviction and Paul Green and Greg Cunningham played without fear, I asked the senior players to watch them, but they didn't need any help. "

Robbie Keane also added:

'I thought the new players coming in, Greg and Paul, were superb.'

Both were speaking in the official post match press conference on www.fai.ie.

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