Kerr happy with draw

Liam Miller showed some nice touches for the Irish

Republic of Ireland boss Brian Kerr said he was satisfied with his understrength team's goalless draw against Poland in Bydgoszcz.

"I had 11 players who withdrew from the squad and another four or five who were not even available and they were quite near their best team," said Kerr.

"We had a team with a lot of young players with potential.

"It wasn't much of a game but the pitch was too grassy and the ball did not move well for either team."

Kerr had looked forward to playing in Poland because he wanted his players to experience life away from the comfort zone of Lansdowne Road, and he felt this trip did the job.

The Irish also extended their run under Kerr to one defeat in 14 matches since he took charge at the beginning of last year.

He added: "We got few decisions from the referee, he gave them every push and throw-in.

"The players have to learn that's the way it is away from home, so this game did fit the bill of what I wanted.

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"It was important psychologically to continue the run, and it was good to keep a clean sheet away from home.

"That is three clean sheets in our last four matches now, against quality opposition, and I felt we did well considering we were short of our best team."