Irish era starts with a high for McCarthy

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's 2-1 Euro 2012 qualifier victory over Macedonia to formally 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, but he was greeted by loud cheers by 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. Hopefully I can get many more caps."