Republic of Ireland attacker Chiedozie Ogbene was left ruing a slow start as a slick England eased to a 2-0 win in the Uefa Nations League B opener at Aviva Stadium.
The Dublin venue was rocking pre-match, buoyed by the opposition and also by the fact that their teamsheet contained Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who had both worn the Irish jersey at different levels in the past.
By the 26th minute however, the pair had their name on the scoresheet and while Ireland had a few sights of goal in the second half, Lee Carsley's side looked extremely comfortable in what was his first game as interim manager.
New Irish head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson had less of an enjoyable first day in office, and Ogbene pointed to those early stages as the crucial period.
"I think we gave ourselves a hard battle from day one," he told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
"The first 20 minutes, just a poor start, two balls in behind cost us the game ultimately.
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"A poor start, two balls in behind, cost us the game" - Ireland player of the match Chiedozie Ogbene was disappointed but accepted England were top-class
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"The gaffer in the second half said just stay in the game as much as possible, I felt like the second half we were more on the front foot trying to get pressure on them.
"The damage was done first half obviously, a quality nation, we know where they're ranked in the world but ultimately the first half is the reason why we lost the game today."
Ireland did have opportunities before England’s opener, with Ogbene, one of Ireland's best players on the day, opting not to hit the ball first time when Jordan Pickford had palmed away Sammie Szmodics’ effort, with Rice slotting home at the other end seconds later.
"I should have gone first time," Ogbene admitted.
"Something the manager said, I wanted a perfect shot, set it up right, but sometimes you have to trust the effort and put my foot through it.
"We had some moments, but just maybe the final ball to end could have helped us in the game.
"We live and we learn against a great nation like this. We have to look to Tuesday against the likes Greece, these will be our battles, the likes of Greece and Finland.
"With the support that we had to today, [we have to] come out and give it our all and hopefully get some results."
Nathan Collins wasn't accepting that the result was a foregone conclusion as he cut a despondent figure afterwards,
"I wouldn't say it was expected," he replied when it was put to him that defeat was no surprise.
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"We went out with a mindset and a game plan but we started a bit slow and a bit passive," says Ireland defender Nathan Collins. "In the second half we got at them a bit more."
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"We went in here with a fresh head, a fresh manager; we went out with a mindset and a game-plan but we started a bit slow, it was a bit passive.
"They scored a chance, a tough start for us, but in our defence I thought second half we started better, we got at them a bit more, we applied more pressure and I thought we won the ball in higher areas and had a few more chances."
Hallgrimsson has had limited time with the Irish squad given the protracted search for Stephen Kenny's replacement, and Collins said that needed to be taken into account.
"That's international football to a tee, isn't it? You don't have a lot of time with the team.
"He does need time with us, we’ve all bought into him, we’re all listening to him and all enjoying his time.
"We have a big game on Tuesday we have to go and win."
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