HOW WE COVERED EURO 2016

‘Swede and sour’ was how it started in Paris and how it ended in Lyon; knocked out by our French hosts despite a fine display in the last 16. In between, there was the incredible Belgian low of Bordeaux and sky high of Lens – a world of emotions across four days of tournament football.

Ireland “drew great strength” from the opening 1-1 draw with Sweden, according to Martin O’Neill, but the manager was left struggling for words to explain the no-show against Belgium seven days later.

Brian Kerr, on these pages, said we were out-muscled and outfought, highlighting an exchange between James McClean and defender Thomas Meunier, who “took the ball off McClean the way a Leaving Cert bully would snatch it away from a little kid with glasses in first year.”

It was time for O’Neill to earn his money, wrote Daniel McDonnell, and the cheque was certainly cleared four days later when, against an Italian team with little to play for, Robbie Brady pulled a nest or rabbits out of his hat to save Ireland’s bacon. Back pages and front pages were torn up as the 85th-minute goal saw history and headlines rewritten.

‘We go again,’ we sang, but this time it was into the hosts’ Lyon den.

O’Neill’s assistant Roy Keane bemoaned the lack of tickets for Ireland fans but even the former captain reflected the cool heads in the camp. Still he implored the team to keep the “must-win” mentality from the Italian job well done.

Despite the early penalty, Lyon was a challenge too far. “Some of them have came of age,” cooed O’Neill afterwards, suggesting it was the start of something when in retrospect it was the beginning of the end.