Euro 2012: Republic of Ireland looking to overcome Paris heartache

Euro 2012: Republic of Ireland looking to overcome Paris heartache
That November night is still etched in the minds of the Republic of Ireland players and supporters.
It’s now time to turn over a new leaf as Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni looks to move on from the disappointment Thierry Henry handed to the Irish to deny them a place at the 2010 World Cup as Trapattoni aims to get the Republic of Ireland firing on all cylinders.
They begin their attempts to reach Euro 2012 against Armenia on Friday and then play Andorra at home at the Aviva Stadium- the newly developed Lansdowne Road. The last time the Republic of Ireland played in a major tournament, they lost to Spain on penalties in the second round of the 2002 World Cup. That was a long time ago, and the likes of Robbie Keane, Shay Given, Kevin Kilbane and Damien Duff are hoping their time out in Korea and Japan will not be the final time they play in a major tournament.
When the players last gathered for an international match it was a friendly against Argentina last month in the first game to crown the opening of the Aviva Stadium, but unfortunately controversy followed them once again, as Ángel di María was offside when he scored the only goal of the game. The luck of the Irish deserted them in Paris and once again it deserted them here.
The Irish will surely fancy their chances of reaching Euro 2012 as their group only has Russia and Slovakia as tricky opponents, with the other nations in the group, Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra, posing little threat.
Russia are without the miracle worker-come-manager that is Guus Hiddink, although they do have Dick Advocaat at the helm. Overcoming the Russians will prove to be the acid test for the Irish.
Slovakia, who played in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and beat reigning champions Italy en route to the second round, won’t be as tough as Russia, but will no doubt put up a fight. Three into two won’t go to qualify, so the Irish need to hit the ground running.
Despite the strength of the opposition, Trapattoni is after the win to kick-start their campaign. “At home, they [Armenia] are hard, they make an impression. We need to understand the result is more important,” he said.
The quest to reach Euro 2012 may have been halted already, with the news that Duff, Keith Andrews and Keith Tracey have pulled out through injury. Dunne and Darren O’Dea are also among the injured players, but both are expected to make it, according to Trapattoni.
“I am optimistic. As a precaution, we left Richard and also Darren out of training, but I am optimistic because we have 48 hours,” he said.
One player who will be playing is Glenn Whelan, who has eyes on reaching the tournament hosted in Poland and Ukraine. “Because of what happened in the last campaign, everyone was just hoping for this to come around as soon as possible,” he said.
“Hopefully with this campaign here, everyone can forget about what happened in Paris. We know we have some tough places to go to and we are going to have some hard games, but we can just worry about ourselves. That's what we are going to do and hopefully qualify.
“It doesn't matter if we are playing Armenia or Russia, we will worry about ourselves,” said Whelan.
The luck of the Irish must return one day.
Euro 2012 previews:
England's footballers start the long road back to regaining the nations trust
John Toshack running out of time to help Wales' youngsters prove their worth
Northern Ireland bid to end European Championship hoodoo
Tough task awaits new Scotland boss Craig Levein