Republic of Ireland 2 - 1 FYR Macedonia: James McCarthy cap settles debate over allegiance once and for all

Published on Sunday 27 March 2011 15:37

James McCarthy emerged from his senior debut for the Republic of Ireland delighted to have finally ended the debate over his allegiance.

The 20-year-old Wigan midfielder was introduced as an 87th-minute replacement for skipper Robbie Keane in Saturday night's 2-1 Euro 2012 qualifier victory over Macedonia to confirm himself as an Ireland international and end Scotland's hopes of persuading him to change his mind.

Glasgow-born McCarthy has spent the last few weeks at the centre of a debate over whether or not his mind was firmly made up following his withdrawal from Giovanni Trapattoni's squad for last month's Carling Nations Cup clash with Wales.

Club manager Roberto Martinez cast further doubt last week when he suggested there could yet be room for manoeuvre, although the player was quick on his arrival in Dublin to insist that the country of his heritage rather than that of his birth had won out.

He was greeted by loud cheers from the crowd at the Aviva Stadium when he emerged from the dug-out to play a cameo role in a tense conclusion to a hard-fought match, and he was thrilled to have settled the issue once and for all.

McCarthy said: "I'm delighted to make my debut. The fans were great with me. There was nothing in the stories that came out. Hopefully I can get many more caps. It's been different class. The boys have made me really welcome. It's just great to be amongst it and get some game-time under my belt."

Former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady, who was also born in Glasgow, is well-placed to understand the pressures on McCarthy and was pleased to see him finally pull on a green shirt. He said: "I was talking to him in the dressing room and he just said he was delighted that he came on and that's it put to bed now. He was getting phone calls from all sorts of people asking if he was going back to Scotland, but he said it was never in doubt and he was never going to do that. Now it's sorted."

Keane was also glad to have one of the country's most exciting emerging talents now firmly within the fold.

He said: "He was desperate just to stop people talking about it. He's an Irish player now. There was never any question about it anyway because he always wanted to be."

Ireland's latest success came in characteristically complicated fashion as they raced into a 2-0 lead inside 21 minutes as Macedonia keeper Edin Nuredinoski allowed McGeady's shot into the net with just 85 seconds gone - McGeady's first goal for his country in his 38th appearance - before spilling Darron Gibson's free-kick at Keane's feet. But the excellent Ivan Trichkovski pulled one back in the final minute of the first half to set up a nervous second 45 minutes.