So this, to a certain degree, is how the other half live. Last night, Ireland were for once the bigger team supposedly benefitting from refereeing decisions. And, after the home side had been eviscerated 4-0 thanks to two reds and a penalty, Estonia’s crowd were left grumpily chanting about the quality – or otherwise – of Hungarian referee Viktor Kassei.

To be fair to Estonian coach Tarmo Ruutli, however, he refused to attribute all blame for his team’s abysmal defeat to Kassei – despite the gear-shifting expulsion of Andrei Stepanov. As important as that was, he couldn’t look beyond his own team’s errors.

“Of course, they [the decisions] played some role in that result but the first two goals were our problems, not the referee’s problem.”

Unsurprisingly, Ruutli was in hugely despondent humour and barely speaking in full sentences – in vast contrast to the laughter he got out of his local press during Thursday’s pre-match press conference. Last night, that carefree openness – this time on the pitch – undoubtedly played a part in their undoing.

As for the individual decisions which caused such unhappiness – with Stepanov sent off for taking Robbie Keane down in a challenge that might have merited a straight red as opposed to just a second yellow, and Piiroja for a handball – Ruutli refused to be drawn.

“The sending-offs are about taste I suppose. How you feel. Maybe the first one was our mistake but the second one was another situation.”

Only dampening Ruutli’s mood further, both of the defenders will obviously miss the second leg along with goalkeeper Sergie Pareiko. The Estonian number-one was booked for his protests after substitute Stephen Hunt had been brought down for the 88^th-minute penalty that turned a reversal into a rout.

Other than salvaging some pride at Lansdowne Road, however, Ruutli conceded that the suspensions are largely irrelevant in the grander scheme. Asked whether the tie was now over, Ruutli admitted “almost. It was a bad day for us.”