GOING INTO the friendly with Hungary at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday, expectations from an Irish perspective were not high.
The visitors played the match on the back of a 14-game unbeaten run. Their most recent Nations League campaign included home and away defeats of England, scoring five goals and conceding none.
By contrast, Ireland’s form was less impressive, to put it mildly.
This week’s last-gasp victory over Hungary — who are 34 places above Ireland in the Fifa rankings — was undoubtedly the Republic’s most impressive scalp since the Nations League defeat of Scotland, almost exactly two years ago.
And even that outcome was a relative rarity — then-manager Stephen Kenny described it as Ireland’s “most significant” home victory in seven years.
At the time, Kenny hoped the result could serve as a springboard but instead, it proved a false dawn.
In the 17 matches Ireland played in the interim, the five victories have come against Armenia, Malta, Latvia and Gibraltar (twice).
It is uncertain how much longer John O’Shea will be in the dugout, but whoever is in charge must ensure the Hungary success does not become the kind of anomaly the Scotland boost turned out to be.
One of the catalysts for the surprise win was Will Smallbone, who started in midfield alongside Josh Cullen, as he did in O’Shea’s first game in charge against Belgium.
The Southampton star had a terrific end to the Championship season, playing a key role in helping the Saints gain promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs.
And the 24-year-old has carried that form onto the international scene, delivering a Man-of-the-Match-winning performance and producing an impeccable cross for Adam Idah’s opener.
Yet both O’Shea and Smallbone afterwards indicated the result was better than the performance when the opposite has been the case too often for the Boys in Green.
“I’ve probably played better and lost,” Smallbone told reporters afterwards. “It probably wasn’t our best performance but winning against a top nation that is going to the Euros was important.
“So it’s a great feeling and to get Man of the Match, yeah, it’s very special for me.”
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GOAL - Against the run of play, Ireland take the lead through Adam Idah after a pinpoint cross from Will Smallbone
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June friendlies can be notoriously tough for players. Smallbone looked one of Ireland’s sharpest performers unsurprisingly, as reaching the playoff final meant his club season ended just over a week ago.
But most of Ireland’s Championship players had gone a month without performing, while the Premier League ended on 19 May.
Smallbone believes it was one reason Ireland started slowly and struggled to get going for large portions of the first half especially.
“But I thought we created chances, we were constantly a threat and I think that’s maybe what we’ve been missing over the past year or so, just to be constantly in the game and a threat,” he adds.
“Maybe a mentality shift [led to the success]. I think it was important that we got a win against a good nation.
“I think we’ve always had an internal belief, but I think externally we need to prove to ourselves and people that we can beat the bigger nations and get ourselves back up to where we belong. I think [Tuesday] is a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Assuming he plays against Portugal next week, it will be Smallbone’s 56th and final game of a gruelling campaign.
Establishing himself in the Southampton side and achieving promotion means it has undoubtedly been the best season of his young career. The midfielder cited O’Shea, who he previously worked with during a loan spell at Stoke City and in the Ireland U21 setup, as an important influence on his footballing progress.
“He’s got a big job in terms of focusing on the team, but whenever I see him around the place or on the training pitch he’s always drip-feeding me bits of information that I’ve taken on and it’s been very key to me having a good season this season and carrying it into this camp.
“[After the game] he was just saying ‘well done’ and that there was ‘a lot more to come’ from myself, and I think the same.
“Going into next Tuesday [against Portugal], it’s another big test but what a game to have. They’re going to be going into the Euros as one of the favourites and I think we can put in a good performance out there and really see where we are at in terms of international level.
“I’ve played over 50 games this season and it’s always tough to keep going but I think when you get the call, and especially John, I feel like I owe him a lot, to come in and try to help him put in a performance.”
