"We want to try to get that elusive win that we need," said Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, speaking at Saturday's press conference ahead of this evening’s game against Wales.
Game seven of the Kenny era and Ireland have yet to register a win to ease some of the frustration that must be building inside the camp, and the fact that only one goal has been scored throughout that time is equally concerning.
Five games straight without hitting the back of the net, and Ireland are faced with another difficult game against a Wales side who will surely be better than they were in Dublin last month, where the sides played out a scoreless draw.
Of course, there was that night back in 2017 when Ireland went to Cardiff and snatched a remarkable 1-0 victory against the Euro 2016 semi-finalists, thanks to James McClean’s deciding strike.
But then the slate was wiped clean 12 months on when Wales slapped four past a clueless Irish side, who then lost again in Dublin in the inaugural Nations League campaign in 2018.
Ireland will take heart from the fact that they were the better side when the two teams met at the Aviva in October, albeit "marginally better" as stated by Kenny ahead of this game.
A remarkable performance from Ireland that day in difficult circumstances, considering they were just back from a gruelling penalty shoot-out defeat in Slovakia, and were then hit with the loss of five players on the morning of an afternoon kick-off.
Ireland’s team will be much changed from the side that played at Lansdowne Road that day, however, the side selected in this return fixture will arguably be weaker, with so many injuries and other withdrawals from the squad.
Four more players had to be plucked from their clubs since the defeat to England on Thursday such is the dearth of available options for the manager, while two others were already drafted in for the Nations League double-header.
Positives have been garnered from all of the performances thus far, with the possible exception of the England excursion on Thursday, where the bright start was long-since forgotten by the final whistle.
A new approach to how the game is played is not something that will happen overnight, and while chances have been created, they have not been taken.
Just two games remain before the long winter break and the imminent World Cup qualifiers, and Kenny really does need some momentum to take him through and into those March fixtures.
The manager began his tenure attempting to build his side around a core group of players, with a defence that looked settled, while experienced midfield men appeared the obvious choice to anchor the side.
And the former Dundalk boss quickly identified others that he felt were ideally suited to his style of play as well as showing real confidence in some aspiring players coming through the Under-21 route.
But that all started to unravel in the build-up to the play-off in Bratislava as Aaron Connolly and Adam Idah were deemed unavailable, then other Kenny favourites like Alan Browne, Callum Robinson and Callum O’Dowda were ruled out of the next two games.
More changes for the England game with James McCarthy - another key man in Kenny’s mind - as well as captain Seamus Coleman, who has yet to play for the new manager, ruled out, not to mention John Egan getting clobbered early in that encounter.
The only positive that the manager can clutch at going into these final two games is that so many players have now been involved in his training camps that a lot of learning has been ongoing about getting to know what is expected when called upon.
Scant consolation at this stage and the manager is going to have to patch up another XI to face Wales with that England performance still a bit too fresh in the memory.
Good early play and a decent finish to the game, which came as a result of impressive cameos off the bench may help the manager select his side, while he also said that he "learned a lot on seeing the players in that environment, individually, and I think that was interesting", which could prove ominous for some.
So who will line out in green at the Cardiff City Stadium?
There will, at least, be some consistency to the selection with Darren Randolph, Matt Doherty and Shane Duffy likely to start, which will leave the manager picking two from Dara O'Shea, Ciaran Clark, Kevin Long, Darragh Lenihan and Cyrus Christie.
O’Shea played close to 80 minutes against England, looked calm and assured and slotted in comfortably alongside Duffy, however, the manager may ask him to play at full-back if he does not feel confident in Christie, who was scapegoated for a lot of what was wrong in the England performance – that weak challenge for the penalty did him no favours.
Picking Long, Clark or Lenihan to partner Duffy should be a safe enough option, but the side will certainly miss that calming influence of John Egan.
Conor Hourihane and Jeff Hendrick are almost getting picked by default at this stage with little to challenge either player in the middle of the park, however, Jayson Molumby is looking more and more like the man to build that unit around, even with a lack of first team football to base his selection on, and with McCarthy remaining out of the picture.
Daryl Horgan started like a train at Wembley but faded once England took control, while Callum O’Dowda did little to cement his place in the side.
Robbie Brady has looked like a great fit for the Kenny system but lack of match sharpness and fitness is probably holding him back – the manager may need him in Cardiff.
Adam Idah was praised for his thankless role on Thursday and Kenny may opt to stick with the young Cork striker, while Ronan Curtis again looked lively off the bench and may have played his way into contention.
Ireland will need to take the game to Wales, as they did in Dublin, where their high press stopped Ryan Giggs’ side from playing their usual patient, ball-playing game.
There is no Giggs on the sideline today with Robert Page taking charge for this international window, however, the home side will be buoyed by the return of talisman Gareth Bale, who is starting to look like his former self following his recent rehabilitation at new club Spurs.
Wales will be without Aaron Ramsey, who has arguably been as influential as Bale since that remarkable run at the 2016 Euros, taking a real creative force out of the side.
Eight points separate the two sides in the Nations League table with Wales top on ten points thanks to three wins and a draw, with Ireland the only side not to lose to the group leaders.
The home side are also unbeaten in nine competitive games and have four clean sheets to show for their four Nations League games in this campaign.
A lot was said about Matt Doherty’s comments after the England game when he suggested that the performance was embarrassing, while he also thought that the team gave up a little once they went two behind, but his assessment of Ireland’s chances of scoring goals was probably a bit more concerning.
"I don't know if we have the belief to, every time we get in the position, really believe we're going to score," said Doherty.
So how do Ireland make the breakthrough and get that elusive first win for the manager?
"There are two things that need to happen," said Kenny.
"Our forward players need to make better runs and our midfield players need to look forward more and be ambitious with their passing. These are the key traits in giving us a cutting edge."
Goals being the unspoken reality of the situation, while the manager revealed that he showed the squad a collage of all the chances that they had created throughout the recent games where they impressed without scoring in order "to visually see we're doing a lot right".
At this stage, in what has been a crazy opening few months in the job for the manager, with little in terms of luck going his way, a spot of visualisation is probably worth the dabble.
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