IRELAND BEGAN WITH a bang but finished with a whimper.
Adam Idah made no mistake with his early penalty but costly errors thereafter and an inability to exert any kind of sustained pressure proved the undoing of Stephen Kenny’s men against the Netherlands.
The Ireland manager spoke of his players feeding off the energy that has been generated by the “cauldron” atmosphere home fans have created at Aviva Stadium during his time in charge.
Inside the opening few minutes his players electrified the enthusiasm in the stands.
By the end it had flatlined as the Dutch made the most of the chances that came their way and punished Ireland accordingly.
There was a slow trickle of fans filing from their seats as the seconds ticked away in second-half injury time. When the final whistle blew the reaction was not one of anger or vitriol. Merely acceptance and frustration.
Idah’s goal and the early sense of urgency hinted that perhaps there would be a dramatic change in fortune when it was needed most during this Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
It wasn’t to be and Ireland can have no complaints.
“Always look on the bright side of life,” the orange pocket of away fans taunted.
Kenny had issued a rallying call for the “performance of our lives” following the 2-0 defeat to France in Paris on Thursday.
To watch him in those manic opening exchanges was to witness a man consumed by the emotions of the job and, naturally, the precarious nature of his position.
There are some within the FAI who will now seek to bring about a change of management.
There is a feeling of inevitability about what is to come for Kenny after this latest result.
There was no sense of embarrassment here but a feeling of sad acceptance.
Just an Ireland team that were not capable of doing what was required to pull off a result against a superior side.
Kenny had his hands on his head inside two minutes and wore a dismayed kind of facial expression when he saw Chiedozie Ogbene’s shot inside the area blocked for a corner after pressure in the box from Alan Browne led to Idah teeing him up as his back was to goal.
Seconds later there would be a greater release of emotion when the penalty was given, and converted, by the young Norwich City striker.
But when Ogbene didn’t take his chance it was understandable to feel like it could be a major moment of regret.
After Virgil Van Dijk was penalised for the handball and Idah made no mistake from 12 yards Kenny’s joy was evident. There was a group hug with his coaching staff before he removed himself from the celebrations.
He walked to the top right corner of his technical area – alone – and paced in circles for a couple of seconds to gather his thoughts. To recalibrate.
Assistant Keith Andrews instantly began to issue instructions to Gavin Bazunu while coach John O’Shea also got messages across.
This was the start Ireland needed. Something to hold on to, to protect.
They couldn’t.
The finishing line was still well in the distance and as the visitors laboured in possession, giving Ireland ample opportunity to put them under pressure and prevent any kind of rhythm, it didn’t quite have the feel of a backs-against-the-wall kind of night.
Then, a trio of mistakes led to an 18th-minute equaliser.
The first error was from Van Dijk, whose attempt at a switch of play from right to left was under hit and easily read by Matt Doherty.
Queue the next error, as the returning right wing back misjudged his header inside and sent it straight to Cody Gakpo. He drove forward from near the halfway line, had time to set himself for a pass and slipped in the rampaging Denzel Dumfries.
He was kept onside by Shane Duffy – the third error – who somehow found himself five yards deeper than anyone else. James McClean had been caught on the hop by the run of Dumfries, tried to recover, but was unable as Bazunu brought the Dutch defender down.
Gakpo, like Idah, made no mistake even if the Ireland keeper did get a hand on the effort.
Now the Dutch could regroup, regain their focus and keep the ball. Donyell Malen should have made it 1-2 when he skinned John Egan after a clever dummy from Xavi Simons. Nathan Collins did enough with the recovering run and sliding tackle to force the forward wide and narrow the angle for Bazunu’s save.
At the other end the Netherlands’ No 1, Mark Flekken, was doing his bit to give Ireland players and fans encouragement. His use of the ball was slow and sloppy and when a pass to Frenkie De Jong in the 33rd minute trickled towards the Barcelona midfielder Browne was on to him in a flash.
Idah then teed up Ogbene again but the Luton Town forward took a touch instead of firing first time and Nathan Ake was over in a flash to block.
Ronald Koeman made two changes at half time and rejigged his attack. Wout Weghorst, who would make the most of Duffy again being deeper than his defensive partners when he scored the winner, became the focal point of the attack as Gakpo and Malen pushed higher and wider.
It was a tactical switch that caught Ireland out and proved decisive.
There was no late surge, or last hurrah, just a meek ending.