THIS WEEK was the seventh anniversary of Ireland’s memorable 1-0 victory over Wales in Cardiff.
That win secured a place in the World Cup qualification playoffs, but Martin O’Neill’s side were subsequently thumped 5-1 by Denmark.
In the seven years since then, leading up to last night’s match against Finland in Helsinki, you could literally count Ireland’s competitive away victories on one hand.
In the interim, the Boys in Green won just four times on the road, beating Gibraltar (twice), Azerbaijan, and Luxembourg.
Hopes were consequently not particularly high from an Irish perspective last night.
Under Stephen Kenny, Ireland had suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats against the same opponents.
Yet early on in the game, it was apparent that it would be a contest between two countries short on confidence — their respective Fifa rankings also suggested there was little between the teams with Ireland 62nd and their rivals 64th.
There was hesitancy from both sides during the first half, with chances at a premium.
The poor manner in which the visitors conceded the opening goal — a mishit Nathan Collins backpass inadvertently playing Joel Pohjanpalo through for a simple finish — suggested it would be another miserable night for Ireland’s long-suffering supporters.
Yet what unfolded in the second period felt like the opposite of almost every Ireland game for the past seven years.
Instead of wilting, Ireland seemed galvanised by going behind. Occasional defensive errors by the Boys in Green went unpunished and the team were uncharacteristically clinical in the final third.
It was far from their best away performance in the past seven years.
Ireland played better football in the 2021 heartbreaking last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Portugal in Faro and the 2020 penalty shootout loss to Slovakia in Bratislava.
But more importantly, in just Heimir Hallgrímsson’s third game in charge, the Boys in Green managed something they never achieved under Kenny — a competitive away win against a team at a similar level.
The usual caveats apply. Finland appear to be suffering a crisis of confidence akin to what Ireland have been experiencing.
Boss Markku Kanerva is under pressure after a series of poor results.
The Finns came into this match with just two wins from their last seven fixtures — both of which were against Estonia (their equivalent of Gibraltar).
Results in the past two years have included a 4-1 humbling Wales, a 2-1 loss at home to Kazakhstan and a 3-0 defeat by Slovenia (although they at least managed to beat Northern Ireland and draw with Scotland in that period).
So while Ireland have managed to stop the rot, they cannot afford to get carried away.
Their one arguably more impressive win in the last seven years was the June 2022 3-0 home victory in the Nations League against a Scotland team that would subsequently qualify for the Euros.
Fans hoped the result would finally kickstart the Kenny era. Instead, it proved an anomaly and a false dawn for the beleaguered manager.
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— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 10, 2024
Ireland lead! Festy Ebosele does so well to fashion the chance and it's lashed home magnificently by Robbie Brady. ☘️☘️
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Thursday night could just as easily have been another heartbreaking defeat.
The dreadful luck Kenny suffered from had threatened to become a recurring feature of the Hallgrímsson era.
Last month’s Greece defeat might have turned out differently had Chiedozie Ogbene not strayed marginally offside before smashing home an eventually disallowed opening goal.
By contrast, Ireland finally received a long-overdue rub of the green on Thursday night.
The hosts missed a few good chances to win the game before Robbie Brady struck the decisive goal.
Just moments before the winner, Benjamin Kallman went extremely close from a header that shaved Caoimhín Kelleher’s post. Those were the marginal moments that invariably went against Kenny, while Hallgrímsson will hope this abrupt reversal of fortune is a good omen for the future.
And while the Irish manager and his team occasionally rode their luck, they deserve significant credit.
One legitimate criticism of Kenny is that he often got his team selection wrong and the in-game substitutions did not have the desired effect.
Conversely, last night Hallgrímsson got nearly every big decision right.
Robbie Brady had a poor window in September and some coaches might have been tempted to drop the ageing Preston star.
But the Icelandic manager’s loyalty was rewarded. The 32-year-old produced a goal, an assist and a man-of-the-match performance.
Similarly, the decision to bring Liam Scales into the team — after a total of zero minutes in the last window — was vindicated. The Celtic star headed home the equaliser and brought added stability to the backline.
Even the substitutions paid off. Festy Ebosele was not an obvious change to make. He was winning just his fourth cap, didn’t even make Hallgrímsson’s last squad originally and the 22-year-old has only made two starts in the Championship since joining Watford on loan from Udinese.
Yet the Wexford native was a revelation after being introduced in the 80th minute. He provided a superb assist for Brady’s winner and caused the hosts plenty of problems with his pace and energy down the right.
It won’t get any easier for Hallgrímsson from this point on. They are considerable underdogs for two of the next three fixtures, away to Greece and England. A draw or better at home to Finland next month should at least ensure they avoid automatic relegation to League C.
But sometimes in football, a win can be worth more than three points.
Before last night, the Hallgrímsson era had been dominated by negativity, from the circuitous route to his appointment to the decidedly anti-climactic opening two games and the question marks over his influence (or lack thereof) on selection.
But suddenly, the narrative has changed. Yes, the well-documented deeper problems with academies and funding remain, but the squad have a rare moment of positivity they must look to build on.
It is not a result that should inspire jubilation, but it perversely feels that way given all Irish football has has to deal with in the relentless bad news cycle of the last seven years.
