With only seven international caps to his name going into Friday's match against Bosnia & Herzegovina, our opponents could have been forgiven for looking at him as an inexperienced player at this level, but Richard Keogh has shown himself to be an important member of Martin O'Neill's Ireland setup, and has recently become one of the consistent performers in the team.
The centre of Ireland's defense is a strange old situation. It seems that there is always some issue at the position, and fans of the national team live in constant fear that we may ship a hiding sooner or later, but while the likes of John O'Shea, Ciaran Clark, and Marc Wilson all struggle with injuries and suspensions, Richard Keogh has started the last three games, and doesn't look to be going anywhere soon.
For the first time in his international Career, Keogh has been given a consistent run in the team and a chance to show some of the form that has lead to him being regularly praised for his performances for Derby County, one of the strongest sides in the Championship year after year. He has taken that chance, and would now be considered first choice centre-back for many Irish fans.
In club football, he's had a strange path. Starting out at Stoke, he was loaned out to Iceland (presumably where he got his style from) before moving to Bristol City, where he played 40 times in five years. Spells at Carlisle and Coventry preceded him finally finding a home at Derby County, where he then earned his first Irish cap at 27 years old. At 29, he's someone who will be around for the next qualifying campaign or two, and if he keeps performing as he has done lately, he'll be one of the first names on the team-sheet going forward.
The win against Germany was no doubt his best performance for Ireland. Alongside John O'Shea and with the help of a little luck, Keogh helped to keep wave after wave of German attack at bay, and would have been a contender for man of the match were it not for match winning heroics elsewhere. His last-ditch intervention to prevent a certain goal in the 14th minute was a particular highlight:
Keogh did manage to pick up man of the match honors on Friday night against Bosnia. With John O'Shea out it was his turn to lead the defence, and he did so excellently. Darren Randolph was not tested as often as many feared he would be, and as he dealt with what he had to do with encouraging efficiency, it would have gone down as a superb defensive performance away to a side ranked higher than us in the FIFA rankings (20th, by the way, I was surprised too), were it not for a lapse in concentration so soon after taking the lead.
Dominating Edin Dzeko in the slowest footrace of all time was a highlight in Zenica:
He captained Ireland against Oman in 2014, the same year he made his international debut. He's barely played for Ireland, and yet it feels like he's been around for ages. He plays the game with a sense of control, and although his face regularly looks panicked, his body language is such that you feel at ease with him in the lineup.
He's defensively solid, he's dependable, he's a good all-round footballer, and he's always available. All of those things have resulted in Keogh being given far more responsibility than a defender with a handful of caps usually would, but he's dealt with it impressively, and risen to prominence in an Irish side that has only conceded two goals in a game once in the last 12. That's how he's become Ireland best defender.
In terms of personality, he's someone who clearly loves playing for Ireland. Every time you see him he is absolutely drenched in sweat, because he always gives 100% when he pulls on the green jersey. His Essex accent may sound more like a reality TV "star" than an Irish international footballer, but he's an Irish centre-back in the bandage-round-the-head, foot-in-where-it-hurts, warrior style that our supporters revere.
I am of the opinion that John O'Shea and Richard Keogh make up our strongest first-choice centre-back pairing when everyone is fully fit, and should we make it to France (fingers crossed) I think they would give us the best chance at keeping our 'goals conceded' column at a more respectable level this time around.
[Photo credit: SportsFile]
