For 45 minutes, it looked as if Lyon would be the location for the greatest day of all. For 45 minutes, it was possible to believe, not just that Ireland wouldn’t go down meekly as Martin O’Neill had promised, but that they wouldn’t go down at all.
Robbie Brady’s early goal had signalled a first half of daring and aggression for Ireland.
Then, in a couple of swift plays which signalled the French talent Ireland had suppressed in the first half, Martin O’Neill’s side were behind. Another act of tiredness and they were down to ten men. The willing remained after that, but Ireland couldn’t back it up. In the final seconds as they chased an equaliser, only four men could get forward, an indication of how much had been drained from Ireland by that stage.
When the final whistle went, Jeff Hendrick and Seamus Coleman fell to the ground. This would not be an extraordinary day, even if for a while it looked like becoming the most extraordinary of the lot.
At the end, Ireland’s players went to Ireland’s supporters and acknowledged their remarkable backing. The players were taking it all in, but they didn’t want to go either. To walk away would be to admit it was all over. They stood in front of them for several minutes, before reluctantly leaving the field.
WATCH: The scenes between the #IRL fans and players after the final whistle will make you so, so proud https://t.co/vdcYy0YTUv
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 26, 2016
O’Neill had insisted they wouldn’t go down meekly, now it became clear none of them believed they would go down at all
France had swaggered for the final thirty minutes, but that couldn’t be confused with assurance after their performance in the first half.
O’Neill had named an unchanged side, but would the circumstances allow an unchanged approach?
There was a swift answer when Brady’s penalty brought an end to an opening spell of play where France didn’t touch the ball before Paul Pogba brought down Shane Long.
Ireland had the lead. Some worried they might have scored too soon, but all Ireland goals, one way or another, come too soon.
France were always going to put Ireland under pressure and now Ireland had a lead at least. It was a lead that exerted psychological pressure on the opposition. France were hosts and were expected to win, but with every heavy touch and misplaced pass, the weight grew heavier.
They weren’t unforced errors either. Ireland remained aggressive during a performance that will provide much hope for the future, although what good is that to us now? Ireland were relentless in the first half. Long charged into Pogba, while Daryl Murphy represented some of the core values in the side. In fact, France could have done with him upfront in the first half.
Murphy chased every ball, put his body in the way whenever a French defender tried to intercept and demonstrated some skill too with a couple of lay-offs that showed Ireland weren’t going to stop playing.
There were moments of joy too as Stephen Ward skinned Antoine Griezmann, Hendrick strode out of midfield and Brady played with the verve and control which at this stage just seems normal.
But this team is doing things which aren’t normal. France were revealing how ordinary they were, but Ireland were doing extraordinary things.
This was another immense Hendrick performance, darkened only by his yellow card in the 41st minute which ruled him out of the next game. For a while, it was tempting to think the next game would be a quarter-final in Paris next Sunday.
Everything else he did in the first half was graceful and assured, while the defence was solid and committed. Just before the interval, Stephen Ward and Shane Duffy blocked from Dimitri Payet and Ireland braced themselves again.
Anything good that France did came without any preparation or expectation, but things changed in the second half. Koscielny’s far post header was a sign of their growing threat and when Randolph saved a Blaise Matuidi shot, it seemed to signal a slump from Ireland and a French surge.
Griezmann had been more involved and within five minutes of Matuidi’s effort, he had scored twice, the first with a header, the second as he reacted to Giroud’s first moment of effectiveness in the game when he won a header which allowed Griezmann to run through on goal.
Jon Walters came on for Murphy, although withdrawing McClean might have been the smarter move, especially as a sloppy lay-off led to the break which led to Duffy’s sending off.
Ireland were tired and diminished, shattered by the swiftness of their downfall: two goals conceded and a man sent off in eight minutes.
For the last twenty minutes, the game became the one France might have expected from the beginning as they pushed an exhausted side back. O’Neill sent on John O’Shea and then Wes Hoolahan, but Ireland were now up against a transformed side which began to enjoy an afternoon that, for a long time, had been unenjoyable.
They kept hold of the ball and exhausted Ireland even further. Andre-Pierre Gignac came on and wasted a couple of chances, but there was no way forward for Ireland.
They tried to make a final surge in injury-time, but even that was beyond them.
