IRELAND BECAME THE latest causalities of France’s lethal ability to wrench a game away in a second.
It happened in a moment which Josh Cullen will replay in his mind again and again.
Yet when the final whistle went the most visibly distraught was centre-back Nathan Collins. The defender dropped to his knees, punched the turf three times and walked in the opposite direction of most of his teammates.
He looked bereft as well as angry. Even James McClean attempted to console him.
The Wolves man had come so close to finding what would have been a deserved equaliser when his 90th-minute header from a Cullen corner was somehow palmed away from the top corner by goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
He must have fingertips of steel.
Lansdowne Road gasped collectively at the sheer magnificence of the save, the final burning embers of a spirited Ireland response extinguished.
France, so often, appear to be in a lull for long periods when, in actual fact, they are always primed. Ireland, who have developed a habit of lapses in concentration at crucial junctures under Stephen Kenny, could not afford to give anything away cheaply.
And then, five minutes after the restart, they did.
Cullen was the man at fault, his square pass to Jason Knight on the edge of the area as Ireland attempted to break was easily read by the advancing Benjamin Pavard.
The full-back, whose sumptuous volley against Argentina won goal of the tournament when France won the 2018 World Cup, didn’t hesitate and his sublime effort clipped the underside of the crossbar on its way to beating Gavin Bazunu.
It can be viewed as a cruel punishment but these are the fine margins against any elite side and when you consider the timing, more of a pattern emerges.
Not least it being the 10th goal Ireland have conceded from outside the box since 2021, but it’s the third crucial strike to go against them in the early moments of the second half.
Scotland equalised at Hampden Park in the Nations League on 49 minutes while Ukraine did so two minutes earlier when Lodz was the neutral venue.
This wasn’t Ireland being guilty of overplaying, it was the right idea to try and counter but simply too tame a pass.
France will always punish the timid.
Their demolition of the Dutch on Friday only served as a reminder of their contentment with acceding possession – 59 per cent for the visitors was actually three per cent less than Morocco had in the World Cup semi-final.
Didier Deschamps has ensured his players, even with their supreme talents, have the patience and acceptance to bide their time and pick their moments to pounce for ultimate damage.
That message would have been ringing in the ears of the Ireland players when they took a precious stalemate into the interval.
So too a reminder that their four goals in Paris last week highlighted the variation with which they can do so much harm – the first coming from Antoine Griezmann winning the ball high before sharply finishing inside the box.
His precise free kick led to a second, bundled home by Dayot Upamecano in a manner to make Shane Duffy proud.
The third and fourth, clinically dispatched by Kylian Mbappe, a ruthless example of the class which is always lurking when a side feels as though they have a degree of control against them.
And yet Ireland still held hope as well as expectation for this meeting with the World Cup finalists – who replaced one Real Madrid superstar, Aurélien Tchouameni, with another, Eduardo Camavinga, in the centre of midfield just to freshen things up.
That expectation which supporters carried with them was not of victory or even a draw, but of progression. Truthfully, after what happened to Ronaldo Koeman’s beleaguered and beaten charges, avoiding an early humiliation quickly rose up the priority list.
That was ensured given the sides went in level at the break, and the manner of Ireland’s spirited attempts at a comeback for the final quarter.
For what it’s worth – nothing now – the French didn’t manage a shot on target until Pavard more than made up for it.
Kenny, as has been his modus operandi long before he even took charge, spoke with a buoyancy beforehand.
He didn’t want a slow death, insisting his side would continue the good work he believes has been undertaken since replacing Mick McCarthy.
It is part of the reason there was hope of seeing signs of a team growing up, developing a cunning nature to frustrate and suffocate a superior side while still possessing, and utilising, the tools in the final third to make nights like these a challenge to once again cherish.
For too long they have been destroyed be fear and, ultimately, defeat.
Another one followed here but as the seconds edged away it didn’t feel as hope, or belief, did. Ireland piled forward, creating moments that had the majority of the 50,219 in attendance on their feet and willing them on.
Jayson Molumby had a fierce shot in the box blocked, Alan Browne flashed another just inches wide, Maignan made a decent near post save from James McClean before reacting quickly to tip a Jules Kounde mistake over the bar.
That led to the corner which Collins rose highest for. There was pace on the header but time still seemed to slow until Maignan reached across.
The nature of international football, with fixtures congealed in sporadic bursts, mean nights like these can be a harsh blow that is hard to recover from if the wounds are allowed fester for weeks.
That will certainly be the case for Cullen, for so long Ireland’s Mr Reliable, a consistent beacon whose one pass lost its way on a night when Ireland still showed enough signs that they are capable of being on course for a successful Euros campaign.
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