Irish trot out talent

FOXBOROUGH — From 1991 to 2000, the Republic of Ireland was a can’t-miss draw at Foxboro Stadium, averaging crowds of 33,789 for five matches. But a lack of star players on the current team contributed to a low turnout for a 1-1 tie with Bolivia at Gillette Stadium yesterday.

A crowd of 13,156 arrived for the doubleheader, which featured the Kansas City Wizards defeating the Revolution, 4-3, in the second game.

Ireland coach Steve Staunton chose a young, inexperienced team for a two-game tour, 11 Irish players making their international debuts on this trip, which began with a 1-1 tie with Ecuador at Giants Stadium Wednesday. Ireland is preparing for European Championship qualifying, which resumes in September, but many players were unavailable because of injury or schedule conflicts. Manchester United’s John O’Shea was slated to captain the team but sustained a back injury.

But Ireland has profited from the experience, said assistant coach Kevin McDonald. ‘‘Whatever happens, if Damien Duff or Robbie Keane are injured, from what you’ve seen here, whoever we pick, you know they are not going to let the country down,’’ McDonald said.

The Irish starting strikers against Bolivia were Shane Long, 20, and Anthony Stokes, 18. Long, who plays for Reading FC, provided the lead with a goal against the run of play in the 13th minute. Stokes broke loose for the best early chance, chipping over the net in the ninth minute. Four minutes later, Long headed Alan O’Brien’s cross off goalkeeper Hugo Suarez for the first goal.

Bolivia, preparing for Copa America June 26-July 15, tied the score as Miguel Hoyos capitalized on a poor clearance after Juan Carlos Arce’s deflected shot hit the left post in the 14th minute.

D.C. United’s Jaime Moreno, who joined Bolivia’s national team for the first time since 2002, departed at halftime with a back strain.

Moreno started at forward alongside Arce, a 22-year-old who plays for Corinthians in Brazil.

Glimpse into future

Joseph Lapira, the Hermann Trophy winner as collegiate player of the year for Notre Dame, played for Ireland as a late substitute against Ecuador. Lapira became the first amateur to perform for the Irish national team since Willie Brown of Bohemians in 1964.

‘‘[Lapira] has done very well, but his fitness level is not up to the others because it’s been six or eight weeks since the college season shut down,’’ McDonald said. ‘‘We are keeping an eye on Ronnie O’Brien [Toronto FC]. We’ve got contacts here and we’ve got to keep our options open.’’

Ireland attempted to call in Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst, who was born in Rhode Island but has an Irish passport, but Parkhurst accepted an invitation to be with the United States for the Gold Cup June 6-24.

Cuts both ways

The Revolution struggled with the grass installed over the Gillette Stadium FieldTurf. ‘‘With the field as dead and slow as it was, they were playing the ball in behind us,’’ Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis said. ‘‘What hurt us most was giveaways in some bad spots. We played too much in the middle of the field. With those conditions, it might have been better to look to go long. But there is a trend that we’ve got to change. We were poor on the ball last week, but got away with it [in a 1-0 win at Houston]. We played poorly but we were up, 2-nothing [last night], and if we had held the ball, it might have ended up that way, but we made it hard on ourselves.’’ Said Revolution coach Steve Nicol: ‘‘The field suited their pace up front. Eddie Johnson is as quick as anybody in the league. They played balls in behind and they knew the ball was not running.’’