Shane Long’s most important contribution wasn’t to score Ireland’s only goal against Netherlands at the Aviva on Friday night. His most important contribution was to get up again after Jeffrey Bruma had wrapped his leg around him earlier in the half.
There might have been something in this game for those like Harry Arter, Stephen Quinn and David McGoldrick who needed to impress Martin O’Neill, but there was another, equally pressing, point to the whole occasion: don’t get injured. For God’s sake, don’t get injured.
This was especially true of Long, who has become so central to Ireland in the last eight months, and others like Seamus Coleman. Coleman was returning after six weeks out with a hamstring injury so he had to play some football, but equally he didn’t want to play so much football that he couldn’t play football again for another six weeks.
Ireland needed these players to get through the game, that was all that mattered. They are certainties to be in the squad so it was with some anxiety that the crowd viewed Long go down after Bruma’s challenge. A cut on his knee had required two stitches towards the end of the season, and the challenge opened the stitches up. There was blood which added to the anxiety, but Long was soon back on the field and soon scoring. O’Neill confirmed later that Long was ok, but he may not play against Belarus on Tuesday.
His growing importance to Ireland was underlined by his scuffed goal which was one of those that could have been scored by anyone if by anyone you mean, in Ireland’s case, Robbie Keane.
Keane has copyrighted those goals and Ireland will miss him as long as nobody else gets them, so that was another reason to be encouraged by Long’s performance and his goal in particular.
John O’Shea had headed powerfully at goal from a vicious Robbie Brady corner, Holland had scrambled to keep it out with Vincent Janssen handling on the line and Long had bundled – the only term is ‘bundled’ – the ball into the net.
Here is that Shane Long goal again. If you want to admire O'Shea's thumping header of Robbie Brady's corner #IRLNEDhttps://t.co/6L7dhFHOxB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 27, 2016
It was Long’s 11th goal for club and country since he scored against Germany, a moment which either transformed his season, or was the most high-profile recognition of the transformation he has undergone at Southampton.
Martin O’Neill said earlier in the week that he felt the goal against the world champions -did you know Ireland had beaten the world champions? O’Neill rarely mentions it – had been the turning point in Long’s season, filling him with a confidence which hadn’t been there before.
Certainly he has come to the attention of the biggest clubs in England. Mauricio Pochettino was at the Aviva and it may have been a coincidence that he was sitting beside Pat Dolan, Long’s adviser, but Long’s energy and work-rate would suit Spurs.
The game had begun with a wonderful spirit in the crowd. The early summer atmosphere combined with the knowledge that a major tournament is on the horizon to create a sense of joy.
That Ireland couldn’t get a kick for the first 15 minutes didn’t really matter. Holland’s failure to qualify for the 24-team competition is one of the great embarrassments of their football history which seemed inexplicable as they began the game so confidently.
Of course, it could explain everything. Effortlessly turning it on when it doesn’t really matter is often a sign of a team that can’t be trusted so Ireland might have been content for the Dutch to enjoy this friendly
Without the ball, Ireland’s players on the fringes had to find other ways of making an impression with Arter and Quinn jumping into a series of tackles, which ended with Arter booked for a lunge on Memphis Depay.
Shane Duffy stood out for much of the game as he moved closer to looking like a guarantee for the squad, although he was fault for the Dutch equaliser.
David McGoldrick might have done enough to impress O’Neill. He will, at the very least, have made the manager’s job harder ahead of the squad selection on Tuesday with a performance of some composure which provided a glimpse of the talent that has impressed the manager.
Arter grew quickly into the game as well. He may well have to another chance at five minutes to midnight in Cork on Tuesday, but O’Neill may be edging towards bringing him too.
There was one final bit of Long hustle before he came off with 25 minutes to go, but the game was winding down by then, the cracking atmosphere swapped for a Mexican wave and a strange noise coming from the stadium PA system.
Holland’s equaliser six minutes from time will cause some to worry about Darren Randolph who found himself in a terrible position, but nobody seemed too bothered. They could worry about that another time. The game had served its purpose. The players who wanted to impress O’Neill had done so and the players he needed to stay fit hadn’t been injured. Everyone could be hopeful.
