Ireland's 3-0 loss to Germany last night was unremarkable for the most part, apart from some strange positions on the pitch for various players. However, one statistic stood out - over the course of the game Noel King, the interim manager, made no substitutions at all! Of the named substitutes (St Ledger, McGeady, Long, Keane, McClean, Green, Elliot, Pilkington, Reid, Hoolahan, O'Brien and Henderson) not one saw a minute of play, although Keane and Pilkington were both carrying knocks and it was subsequently announced that Pilkington will return to his club for treatment.
A lack of substitutions is uncommon in international football, but it has been the case for the Republic of Ireland in two games in the recent past. Early in Giovanni Trapattoni's reign, his charges drew 0-0 away to Montenegro in a World Cup qualifier in September 2008 without a single player being withdrawn from the action. Previous to that, under Brian Kerr, Ireland won 2-1 in Georgia in a European Championship qualifier when again no substitutes were used. The match was also remembered for a penknife striking Kevin Kilbane, while various other objects were thrown from the crowd with Lee Carsley, Gary Breen and Damien Duff also being hit.
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