Aiden McGeady

Full name: Aiden McGeady

Date of birth: 4 April 1986 (age 26)

Place of birth: Glasgow, Scotland

Playing position: Winger

Current club: Spartak Moscow (Russia)

As Aiden McGeady saw the net billow after Shane Long's headed winner against Bosnia last weekend, the Republic of Ireland winger cracked a broad smile that could well be described as one of vindication.

McGeady has always relished the opportunity to fight his own corner when he feels wronged, so the prospect of silencing a prominent critic and proving a point to Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni in the process was a moment to savour.

The Spartak Moscow star has been one of the mainstays of Trapattoni's team during recent years and played a substantial role in their successful bid to qualify for Euro 2012.

But that was not enough to satisfy former Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane, who used his newspaper column to question the 26-year-old's form for his country and claim he does not do enough on international duty.

When Trapattoni opted to leave McGeady on the bench against the Bosnians to allow him to check out rising star James McClean, it was like a red rag to a bull.

McGeady, who has 48 caps for Ireland, finally got his chance as a second-half substitute on Saturday and he seized it, delivering a man-of-the-match display that tormented the Bosnia defence.

He capped the virtuoso performance with a perfectly-weighted cross for Long's goal and then responded to Keane in the forthright fashion usually the trademark of the out-spoken former Manchester United midfielder.

"Roy Keane? He says enough anyway. I played with him at Celtic and that was bad enough," McGeady said.

"He is just one of those guys who has something to say about everything. I got on with him as a guy but he is just one of those guys who has an opinion on everything.

"Over the qualifying campaign, I was probably not great in every game but I know -- not being big headed -- that I was probably one of the main players. Possibly because I don't get one cross in every time, I get criticised.

"But when other people talk about the 'final ball', that is their opinion. But who set up more goals than me in the qualifiers?"

Keane did not see McGeady's display against Bosnia as he was in Norway working as a television pundit for England's friendly but it was far more important that Trapattoni appreciated the efforts of his player.

The Italian was just as irked as McGeady by Keane's criticism and launched a sterling defence of the winger, who moved to Russian club Spartak for £11 million in 2010.

"For me, the first thing is that maybe they don't follow the Russian League," Trapattoni said. "And secondly, I played football and I wish to ask them, did they always play well?

"From the moment that they were born, did they play beautifully in every game? McGeady is in a very good moment. He is improving his confidence and his personality. Two years ago, he was good, but he was young. Now he plays with maturity."

That kind of backing suggests McGeady will get his chance to shine at the Euros and it would take a brave man to bet against the feisty winger silencing his critics once and for all.