Even the most optimistic of Irish fans would’ve been forgiven for writing off not only our chances of getting a result away to Portugal but also our chances of securing 2nd spot to take us to the playoffs before this game.
Despite the defeat, this performance may just lift a few heads ahead of Tuesday’s must win against a very recent source of embarrassment in Armenia.
Portugal manager Roberto Martinez and Bruno Fernandes spoke very highly of their visitors ahead of the game stating that they knew exactly how difficult Ireland were going to make it for them.
But, in truth not many Irish fans fully believed we had a performance like that in us anymore after recent collapses in Yeravan and Wembley just to name a couple.
If we’re to believe Fernandes and Martinez’s comments then Portugal would’ve gotten exactly what they expected. It was a stereotypical Irish performance full of grit, organisation and passion.
Whilst Ireland only managed to muster a solitary effort in the first half, they were never really cut open by their star studded hosts.
The one guilt edge chance fell the way of Bernardo Silva in the 17th minute. Ronaldo picked up a pocket of space just outside the box on the left. He bent an effort around Caoimhin Kelleher off the woodwork. Kelleher reacted well to make sure the ball didn’t bounce of his head into the net but it looked ominous for him as the ball fell at Man City’s Bernardo Silva’s feet. The ball might’ve bobbled slightly but it really was a let off as he missed the target.
Ireland kept hold of the ball when and where they could but were missing that link between midfield and attack to penetrate which left Evan Ferguson with a thankless task up front.
A scoreless half was seen as a great building block for The Boys in Green in their quest to earn an unlikely result but the opening exchanges of the second half were always going to be vital.
Portugal came out for the second half with a bit between their teeth after an underwhelming first half performance from their point of view. The first 10 minutes of the second half contained a few goal mouth scrambles and a couple of close escapes that made you just feel it might just be our night.
Halgrimmson’s men still didn’t provide a threat at the top end of the pitch but the 2,700 Irish fans who traveled to Lisbon weren’t a bit bothered about that as The Fields of Athenry continued to drain out the Portuguese anxiousness in the Jose Alvavde as we approached the final 20.
In the 73rd minute, it seemed like all the hard work was going to be undone by a blatantly terrible decision from the Slovakian referee, Ivan Kruzliak. Portugal were continuously recycling the ball after more heroic Irish defending when the substitute Trincao found a bit of space on the edge of the box. He hit a fearsome shot only for Dara O’Shea to put his body on the line for the upteenth time of the night. Within a split second, the penalty had been awarded.
Replays seemed to suggest that it was an inevitability that it would be chalked off as the ball quite clearly struck the Ipswich defender on the chest.
But, a short lived check resulted in a scandalous penalty decision. Cristiano Ronaldo has a past for breaking Irish hearts and he, sure enough stepped up to take the penalty. He was already wheeling away to celebrate as he saw Caoimhin Kelleher dive the wrong way only for the Brentford man to flick the ball away with his trailing leg to keep it scoreless and serve some justice. Another heroic moment for the Corkman representing his country.
From there, it really felt like it was going to be our night. The birthday boy Seamus Coleman was still going strong until the 85th minute when he made way for the returning John Egan to a warm embrace from the Irish coaching staff. His inclusion in the squad came as a bit of a surprise given he’s only played 2 minutes in the Premier League this season with a couple of League Cup starts sprinkled in between. For him to come into a game the size of this against the calibre of opposition is a credit to himself and it epitomises the dedication and invaluable experience he’s brought to Ireland squads over a number of years.
It unfortunately, wasn’t to be in the end. Troy Parrot gave away a free kick in Portugal’s defensive third just as a questionable 7 minutes went up on the board. Portugal got on with it quickly and Trincao put in a beautiful cross right onto the head of the onrushing Ruben Neves to score his first goal for his country.
A fitting time to do it for the former Wolves man on a night where tributes from both sets of fans were paid to the late Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. Neves who was teammates with Jota at Molineux took the number 21 shirt in his friend’s honour and some might say the way he arrived in the box at the perfect time was very Jota-esque.
Another “nearly” night for Ireland but plenty of positives to take into a simply put, ‘must win game’ in Dublin on Tuesday if we’re to have any chance of qualification going into November.