Leap of faith from Trap as Sammon gets the nod to replace Robbie

Conor Sammon couldn’t have asked for more pressurised circumstances to make his first competitive start for Ireland having been selected to replace Robbie Keane against Austria tomorrow night.

The Derby striker has been given the nod ahead of the likes of Kevin Doyle, Simon Cox and Wes Hoolahan and will start up front alongside Shane Long in a game that is crucial to our hopes of qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil next summer.

After Keane’s absence was confirmed yesterday because of a calf strain the Irish captain picked up in Stockholm on Friday night, it had been speculated that Wes Hoolahan – who was effective in a brief cameo from the bench in the Friends Arena – would be drafted into the starting XI to face the Austrians.

Citing a desire to play two strikers up front at home, Trap has instead taken a huge leap of faith with his selection of Sammon, whose only game in an Irish jersey to date was a pretty underwhelming outing in a friendly against Poland last month and will hopefully not look like a fish out of water this time around.

Elsewhere, Glenn Whelan returns to the side but in place of Paul Green rather than James McCarthy, Ireland’s outstanding player in Stockholm and those two changes aside, it’s as you were for a game that we could really do with winning in what looks like a fight to finish second place behind Germany in the group.

There is a doubt over Marc Wilson because of a groin injury, with Stephen Kelly on stand-by to step in if the Stoke man isn't 100 per cent.

Ireland team to play Austria: Forde; Coleman, O’Shea, Clark, Wilson; Walters, Whelan, McCarthy, McClean; Sammon, Long