BY RIDGE MAHONEY, senior editor Fighting spirit, tenacity, and whether a player’s astrological chart included strong influences of the water signs were the only characteristics that could be gleaned from what passes for “a lovely night of football” in Dublin. Skill, pace, first touch, positioning — all were drowned, literally, by a marshy field on which passes splashed to a stop and slide tackles went on forever. If muckers and mudders could automatically win World Cup matches, Ireland would have to be among the favorites. The Irish skipped over the puddles and stroked the ball slickly on the firm portions of Landsdowne Road’s surface and won a match of few chances, 2-1, on April 17. Robbie Keane showed his European class as well as his Dublin roots by constantly tormenting the U.S. defense on the home sod. He escaped tight marking by either ranging wide or, more often, finding a space between Chris Armas and the central defenders to twist past tackles and turn towards goal. Much better defensively was Claudio Reyna, who stepped into tackles strongly and usually played the ball out of trouble when he got it. But on a night of Brian McBride’s flicks being mopped up by opponents and Clint Mathis swimming upstream futilely and Joe-Max Moore drenched in frustration, the U.S. could seldom control the ball. The late injury withdrawal of David Regis prompted a belated call for Greg Vanney, who played an inconclusive second half at left back. Jeff Agoos played the first 45 minutes in that position and took a lot of misdirected criticism — as did John O’Brien — on the Irish goal in the sixth minute. O’Brien tried to win the ball in midfield but Kevin Kilbane lunged through his slide tackle and played a short ball to Rory Delap as Steve Finnan roared up the right side. Agoos, confronting Delap, pointed to the space behind him, but neither Armas nor Earnie Stewart — who had been on hand when O’Brien attempted his tackle — could get there. Finnan filled the space and drove a low cross that Mark Kinsella volleyed viciously past Brad Friedel despite Berhalter’s close attendance. Perhaps Berhalter could have been ball-side but still the cross was a bit behind Kinsella and he hit a remarkable shot. Berhalter’s toughness and aggressiveness — along with the occasional shirt grab — slowed down mercurial Damien Duff, who is Friedel’s teammate at Blackburn. It was a stiff test for Berhalter; since Duff usually plays a wide midfield role and the U.S. has a need at left back, perhaps the left-footed Berhalter will get a look as an alternative to Regis. On the left side Agoos launched several dangerous balls up the line. A more assertive O’Brien could have exploited them. Eddie Pope showed more fire and muscle than he had in the 4-2 rout by Germany. He simply overpowered Delap to score. But at critical points the U.S. again showed a disturbing tendency to fluff double-teams, which are often the responsibility of the midfielders. As Berhalter harassed Keane just outside the box, Armas had a split-second opportunity to nick the ball away. He missed and Keane played a great through ball for Duff that Friedel flew out of his goal to knock away. O’Brien seemed out-of-sorts, losing possession and passing inconsistently, although he hit a superb corner kick for Pope to into the net and did win a few balls. A report that O’Brien had blacked out a few hours before the game and was given intravenous fluids prior to kickoff explained a lackluster showing. Stewart struggled through another ineffectual game, failing to help out defensively and being trapped offside at the other end. A break prior to the World Cup should recharge his batteries. Tony Sanneh is the Yin and Yang of this team at right back. His strength and frame are assets but his giveaways are glaring. Substitute Gary Doherty outmuscled him on the winning goal, which splendidly served up by Steve Staunton, but Sanneh — one of only four Americans to play the whole game — might simply have been too gassed to withstand Doherty’s shoving. Staunton’s inswinger dropped into the six-yard box, which is normally keeper territory. Kasey Keller, a halftime substitute, stayed on his line and couldn’t reach the shot. Sanneh is not a prototypical overlapper yet he can contribute offensively besides as a set-piece target. He pushed into the middle third on occasion to chip promising balls for the frontrunners. But the swarming, pressuring Irish allowed few opportunities for the Americans to take a breath and survey the scene. The hosts deserved their victory.