Stephen Kenny's side came into Wednesday night’s friendly international looking to lay down a positive marker ahead of Monday’s home clash with France, and while Ireland ultimately dug in to snatch a 3-2 victory over Latvia, there were flaws in the performance that would most likely have proved fatal against a better quality of opposition.
The arrival of the World Cup finalists marks the start of yet another international qualifying campaign, as the clash with Didier Deschamps' side is the first of eight games on the road to Germany 2024.
Two teams will qualify out of Group B, however, before a ball is even kicked, Ireland are facing an uphill task as they not only take on France, but also a highly fancied Dutch in their quest to reach next summer’s showpiece.
The Latvia match served its purpose, to put minutes into the lungs and legs of several players who have been lacking game time at their club, while the manager was also hoping that some players would put their hand up for a playing role against the French.
With five days between the games, player fatigue was never going to be an issue, while there were some solid performances to take from the friendly affair, with Will Smallbone securing the player of the match award on his debut and Evan Ferguson scoring on his first start for his country.
Smallbone showed a wide range of attributes that could see him potentially break into the starting XI on Monday: his excellent link-up play with Matt Doherty on the right, his composure and precision on and with the ball, not to mention his excellent range of set-piece deliveries, which could prove vital as the campaign progresses.
"Will, having watched a lot of Stoke recently, I’m just so impressed with how he has kicked on," said Kenny, speaking at the post-match press conference. "He has added other aspects to his game, so he has given us something to think about."
Ferguson added to his growing reputation with a goal in his first start, and while the manager played down the potential of the latest injection of youth into the side, it was clear that he was more than happy with the Brighton striker’s contribution.
"What we have now is a high number of players who have come through, unprecedented in our history the number in a short proximity. That has given us depth in our squad," said Kenny.
"Evan, it’s his first start and he got a goal. You can’t predict things in the future. He is still learning the game and he took everything in his stride.
"Mikey, that was a snapshot of what Mikey can be," added Kenny, about substitute Johnston who came on and set up the winner within a minute of his first introduction to the side.
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The problems, however, were those that have been seen before from this Ireland team, with two more goals scored from distance, which is becoming an unwelcome habit with Kenny’s charges.
Kenny admitted after the game that it was a far from perfect performance and acknowledged that his side made life difficult for themselves, however, he also stated that he was pleased with several aspects of the game and felt that the team played well for large sections of the game.
Shades of Armenia in the Nations League campaign last year, where Ireland were dominating a game at home, leading 2-0, before getting sucker punched with two quick goals – remarkably similar to tonight’s game, with both goals coming from speculative efforts from outside the box.
On a positive note, Kenny’s teams worked out how to win both games, with a triple substitution doing the trick to squeeze past Latvia at the Aviva.
Johnston and Chiedozie Ogbene were two of the three replacements and both combined to grab the vital goal, but perhaps the third of the trio that was sent on with the game evenly balanced at 2-2 was more indicative of the manager’s thinking during the game.
Granted, as Kenny said, "It would be unrealistic to expect a perfect performance with a lot of players coming in that haven't been playing regularly".
But sending John Egan on for the final 30-odd minutes suggested that the manager was not happy with his central defensive trio, where there certainly appeared to be a lack of cohesion between Nathan Collins, playing most centrally, and Dara O’Shea and Andrew Omobamidele either side of him.
On top of which, Ireland did not have a natural holding midfielder, with Jayson Molumby the most defensive-minded but also liable to follow the ball into the centre of the pitch as part of his natural energetic game.
"Latvia caused problems up front with their two strikers, one was 6ft 6in, and the front two were a handful, and that is a different challenge for players," Kenny acknowledged.
Looking ahead to the France game on Monday, the team should have a more familiar look to it with the return of Egan from the start to marshal the defence, while Kenny's go-to midfielder Josh Cullen is also likely to resume his role of sitting in front of the last line.
"France also possess an aerial challenge and that is something that we have to contend with next Monday as well. Obviously, a different style of play with the explosive speed in wide area and so forth, but they also get crosses in and they attack the ball well in the box and that is something that we have to contend with.
"Josh Cullen is a holding midfielder who does that job very well and we kept him off fresh today, so he comes into consideration (for the France match)."
The manager confirmed that Seamus Coleman is an injury concern ahead of the game having picked up a slight knock with his club over the weekend. "There is a slight strain but we think he will be okay," said Kenny.
"France is a completely different game and one that we have to get ready for on Monday," added the manager. "I think that’s a good start to the week, to win, score three goals.
"We’re not euphoric or ecstatic because we know we’ve let in two, but listen, it’s a good start to the week and we’ll take it."
