David Connolly is hoping his performance against Turkey when he scored his ninth goal in 39 appearances will earn him a place against Switzerland for the Republic of Ireland's decisive Euro 2004 showdown next month.
Ireland will almost certainly need to win their Group 10 clash in Basel if they are to have any chance of reaching next summer's European Championship finals in Portugal, and Kerr must now give serious consideration to playing Connolly alongside Robbie Keane after the West Ham striker scored a stunning goal in last night's 2-2 draw with Turkey.
Connolly scored after 35 minutes of the friendly at Lansdowne Road. Collecting a pass from Liverpool's Steve Finnan, he showed a great burst of speed to slip Aston Villa defender Alpay on the left before cutting into the box and burying his shot inside the near post. It was Connolly's first goal in an Ireland shirt since he scored against Cyprus in a World Cup qualifier in October 2001.
"Hopefully my performance will get me into the side for the Switzerland game," said Connolly. "It is a huge game and it is one everyone wants to be involved in.
"It is always nice to score goals and I think I finished it well. I am also pleased to get the man of the match award. There were a lot of good players on the pitch and it is nice to get a personal award, though the result was the most important thing."
Connolly earned words of praise from Kerr who said: "David has been in good form and scoring goals for his club and he did well, but we know he can do that. He had a very good scoring record when he first came into international football and it is good to see him scoring again."
Filed by Johnny Proby
