With less than an hour until kick-off, it’s a subdued atmosphere at the Aviva.
Ireland ideally would have been playing Denmark now for a place at the World Cup, but the semi-final heartache against Czechia means they have ended up in this friendly for playoff losers.
It will, at least, be a chance for the Aviva to express their gratitude to experienced players like Seamus Coleman and John Egan who have served their country with distinction for years. This is the first game on home turf since the memorable defeat of Portugal in November.
It could also be a potentially memorable night for the likes of Bosun Lawal, Millenic Alli and Josh Keeley, who will be hoping to make their senior international debuts.
The North Macedonians, meanwhile, are likely to also be less-than-enthused about the prospect of this match, having been well beaten 4-0 by Denmark on Thursday.
31 Mar
7:15PM
Confirmation of the Ireland starting XI below…
Your Ireland team to face North Macedonia 🇮🇪
Liam Scales & John Egan come into the side as we look to end the week on a positive note 💪
Ireland's Seamus Coleman ahead of the match. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
31 Mar
7:37PM
The Ireland boss, Heimir Hallgrímsson, gives his thoughts to RTÉ ahead of the game.
‘We want to finish with a good performance’ – Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson expects a big performance from his side pic.twitter.com/mWX8AFQBW7
Ireland's Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson ahead of the match. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
31 Mar
7:47PM
We’re underway…
31 Mar
7:50PM
3 mins: It’s been an uneventful opening.
Neither team has created anything of note.
31 Mar
7:52PM
5 mins: Molumby clips a ball over the top, but Parrott is adjudged offside.
Replays confirm the AZ Alkmaar star ran slightly too early.
31 Mar
7:54PM
7 mins: The North Macedonians have seen plenty of the ball in the early stages.
They’ve mostly played in front of the Irish defence and midfield, though.
31 Mar
7:58PM
10 mins: Ogbene’s low cross is deflected out for a corner.
The ensuing set piece is half cleared before it falls to O’Shea, whose clipped delivery into the box is headed off target by Egan from a difficult angle.
31 Mar
8:01PM
15 mins: Ogbene’s shot from the edge of the area is deflected over.
That again came from an O’Shea delivery into the box that caused problems.
31 Mar
8:05PM
18 mins: As it stands, this very much feels like the unwanted friendly it was perceived as.
The crowd are quiet, with very little to get excited about in the game so far.
31 Mar
8:07PM
20 mins: Ogbene is penalised for a foul on Herrera on the edge of the area.
This feels like the first chance for North Macedonia to threaten.
31 Mar
8:09PM
21 mins: Bardhi’s free kick takes a slight deflection off the Irish wall.
Nonetheless, Kelleher can parry it behind comfortably enough for a corner.
31 Mar
8:11PM
24 mins: Parrott gets his first half-chance.
But the striker’s header from the edge of the area is easily saved by Dimitrievski.
31 Mar
8:13PM
26 mins: Azaz goes on a mazy run on the edge of the area and is fouled by at least one North Macedonia player as he dribbles towards goal.
The same player blasts the subsequent free kick a few inches over.
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As it happened: Ireland v North Macedonia, international friendly
Ireland 0-0 North Macedonia
Hello, and welcome to tonight’s liveblog.
With less than an hour until kick-off, it’s a subdued atmosphere at the Aviva.
Ireland ideally would have been playing Denmark now for a place at the World Cup, but the semi-final heartache against Czechia means they have ended up in this friendly for playoff losers.
It will, at least, be a chance for the Aviva to express their gratitude to experienced players like Seamus Coleman and John Egan who have served their country with distinction for years. This is the first game on home turf since the memorable defeat of Portugal in November.
It could also be a potentially memorable night for the likes of Bosun Lawal, Millenic Alli and Josh Keeley, who will be hoping to make their senior international debuts.
The North Macedonians, meanwhile, are likely to also be less-than-enthused about the prospect of this match, having been well beaten 4-0 by Denmark on Thursday.
Confirmation of the Ireland starting XI below…
And confirmation of the North Macedonia team here…
Who do you think will win?
Poll Results:
The Ireland boss, Heimir Hallgrímsson, gives his thoughts to RTÉ ahead of the game.
We’re underway…
3 mins: It’s been an uneventful opening.
Neither team has created anything of note.
5 mins: Molumby clips a ball over the top, but Parrott is adjudged offside.
Replays confirm the AZ Alkmaar star ran slightly too early.
7 mins: The North Macedonians have seen plenty of the ball in the early stages.
They’ve mostly played in front of the Irish defence and midfield, though.
10 mins: Ogbene’s low cross is deflected out for a corner.
The ensuing set piece is half cleared before it falls to O’Shea, whose clipped delivery into the box is headed off target by Egan from a difficult angle.
15 mins: Ogbene’s shot from the edge of the area is deflected over.
That again came from an O’Shea delivery into the box that caused problems.
18 mins: As it stands, this very much feels like the unwanted friendly it was perceived as.
The crowd are quiet, with very little to get excited about in the game so far.
20 mins: Ogbene is penalised for a foul on Herrera on the edge of the area.
This feels like the first chance for North Macedonia to threaten.
21 mins: Bardhi’s free kick takes a slight deflection off the Irish wall.
Nonetheless, Kelleher can parry it behind comfortably enough for a corner.
24 mins: Parrott gets his first half-chance.
But the striker’s header from the edge of the area is easily saved by Dimitrievski.
26 mins: Azaz goes on a mazy run on the edge of the area and is fouled by at least one North Macedonia player as he dribbles towards goal.
The same player blasts the subsequent free kick a few inches over.
Here’s a look at that Azaz free kick…
37 mins: Promising moment for Ireland.
Molumby slips through Parrott. The Dubliner wriggles away from two defenders, but his finish goes well over the bar.
Better from Ireland.
Azaz lofts a ball towards the box.
Velkovski makes a mess of his attempted clearance.
But again, Parrott can’t hit the target with his finish.
Moments later, the 24-year-old is on the end of a rough tackle from Fetai, but looks like he’ll be alright to continue following treatment.
44 mins: Parrott clips the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net, but he’s penalised for being offside.
Replays reveal it was a correct (if marginal) decision.
It was a lovely through pass from Azaz to set him up.
HALF-TIME: IRELAND 0-0 NORTH MACEDONIA
So half-time, and perhaps, unsurprisingly, it hasn’t been the greatest of spectacles.
Ireland have at least looked solid defensively, with the North Macedonians posing few problems.
The hosts began to look more dangerous as the half wore on, without seriously pressurising the visitors.
There has been just one shot on target (registered by Ireland), which emphasises the lack of attacking quality on display thus far.
Czechia are on the way to the World Cup as it stands.
They lead Denmark 1-0 at half-time in their playoff final.
The second half has begun…
North Macedonia have made a few changes at the break.
Rastoder, Darko Velkovski and Bardhi are off.
Serafimov, Musovski and Ristovski come on.
50 mins: Coleman gets the ball in a promising position on the right, but his cross goes straight into the goalkeeper’s arms.
Ireland need to be better from those types of situations.
53 mins: Azaz slips through Parrott.
The striker turns sharply, but his shot hits the outside of the post and goes behind.
Azaz has probably been Ireland’s best creative outlet and has delivered a more influential display than in Prague.
55 mins: Azaz attempts a shot from the edge of the area that goes a few inches wide.
Moments later, Ogbene blasts well over.
It feels like Heimir Hallgrímsson, during the half-time break, told his players to try more shots.
Multiple changes on the way.
For Ireland, Vale, Lawal, Abankwah, and Travers are on.
Azaz, Coleman, Kelleher and Molumby are off.
For North Macedonia, Stankovski, Ramadani, Doriev and Nikolov come on.
Churlinov, Kostadinov, Alimi and Elmas go off.
64 mins: Straight away, Vale produces two testing deliveries.
The first is half cleared before the goalkeeper gathers the second under pressure from multiple Irish players.
Another sub for the visitors.
Fetai is replaced by Musliu.
68 mins: Lawal beats a man but then makes a mess of the pass.
39,560 is then announced as the official attendance.
72 mins: More changes.
For Ireland, O’Brien and Idah come on for Egan and Parrott.
And for North Macedonia, Ramadani is replaced by Bejtulai. The former was himself a substitute, but seemed to pick up a knock.
78 mins: All the substitutions have seriously disrupted the flow of the game.
Neither side look like scoring at the moment.
80 mins: Herrera and Abankwah have been involved in a nasty-looking collision.
Both players are down, receiving treatment.
84 mins: Abankwah looks gutted, as his Ireland debut ends prematurely — he is hobbling off assisted by medical staff.
It means Alan Browne comes on, while Johnny Kenny is also introduced for Ogbene.
86 mins: Now, Ristovski is down receiving treatment.
The ball-in-play time for this half must be incredibly low.
There will be seven minutes of stoppage time.
There probably should be more.
Troy Parrott has been named the official man of the match.
Bejtulai has just been penalised for cynically chopping down Kenny on the edge of the area.
Ireland have a free kick in a promising position.
Idah’s attempt goes disappointingly straight into the wall.
Less than three minutes remain.
90 mins: Big chance!
A lovely flick by Idah sets it up, but Kenny’s finish is straight at the goalkeeper.
97 mins: Ireland win a corner.
One last chance.
O’Brien wins the initial header from the corner but Idah can’t steer the follow up on target.
FULL-TIME: IRELAND 0-0 NORTH MACEDONIA
So that’s that.
A game that won’t live long in the memory.
The visitors barely threatened and Ireland had a couple of chances to win it.
But both teams struggled to acquire momentum, amid a stop-start second half, and a draw feels like a fair enough result.
Right, that’s all from me.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
We’ll have more reaction on the site shortly.
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