BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS BUT GAP IN SKILL WAS TOO GREAT
All that’s left of them now are the memories
AT half-time, and with an unexpected lead thrilling the country, the various threats to Ireland were assessed.
There was the toll taken by the heat on a boiling day in Lyon. The small number of Irish supporters in the ground and the resultant Francophile atmosphere were mentioned. France had enjoyed three more rest days than their opponents, too.
But in the end, it came down to talent. France had better players, and even when their stars were dimming, they could produce enough brilliance to leave Ireland dazzled.
The French arsenal misfired throughout the first half, with some of the most treasured names in the sport out of sync and appearing spooked by the expectations of their fans.
A good player playing badly remains an asset nonetheless, and the proof was Antoine Griezmann.
He was playing so poorly that it was possible to feel some sympathy for him, as when he mis-controlled a pass so comically that it took French play from the edge of the Ireland box back to near their own one.
But a good player still possesses within himself the possibility of transformation. In a three-minute burst Griezmann broke through his earlier ineptitude and put Ireland out of the competition, scoring two goals that were triumphs of instinct and ability over form.
At the other end of the field, Daryl Murphy and Shane Long worked like stevedores for Ireland but neither can call upon the quality that has made Griezmann a star for Atletico Madrid, one of the best teams in the world.
Long is the more dangerous of the two starting Irish forwards, but his game is about speed and physical power. Murphy’s relies mostly on strength. When a player like that reaches this altitude of international competition, they need to be very good all of the time in order to survive.
That is a very great demand, and it was too much, not just for him or Long, but for everyone on the Irish side.
The team played excellently for a lot of the first half, but that was facilitated by an early penalty and French inhibitions. There is no manager under more pressure at this tournament than Didier Deschamps, but he demonstrated his skills at half time.
The introduction of Kingsley Coman and consequent tactical realignment meant France were aggressively offensive from the first second of the half, and Ireland were in instant difficulty.
Twenty-four degrees of Lyon heat and the contrasting lead-in periods for the teams to this encounter were certainly factors, but so was the gap in quality between the two sides.
There was excellent movement from the French forwards and Griezmann’s headed equaliser was a forbidding portent; it felt like more than a tying goal.
It was the smell of blood to a yelping pack of pursuers.
There was no dishonour in Ireland falling to a team who are probably good enough to win the entire championship.
The last 16 was a reasonable measure of Ireland’s quality in the context of the competition.
Given that they retreated after taking the lead against Sweden, and were atrocious in the 3-0 defeat against Belgium, some of the claims made for them before and after this defeat were fanciful.
The highlight of the month was certainly the win against Italy, but it is too easy to forget how bad the Italian B team were.
The match deserves to be remembered as one of the great victories for the national soccer team, but it should be recalled accurately. Ireland’s entire campaign should be.
They are a limited but game side, who have been superbly managed for the past 12 months by Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane, since that dismal home draw against Scotland.
That expert tutelage extended to France these past weeks. The team selection against Italy was inspired, and O’Neill was right to persevere with the same 11 players yesterday. Shane Duffy showed his inexperience and the limits of his abilities, but the suggestion that John O’Shea would have guaranteed a tighter Irish defence is dubious.
He is, after all, a man who could not get in the Sunderland team as they clambered free of relegation from the Premier League.
There are no fall guys, however, and there must be no search for one, because Ireland did not fail.
They are one of the European teams who benefited from political stroking by the disgraced Michel Platini to qualify for a bloated, 24team tournament in the first place.
Their group was potentially treacherous but they survived it, and then ultimately fell to the host nation, a team packed with Champions League players.
It is not a complicated story, but in exiting it now, the Ireland players did plenty to make their people proud.
They also showed themselves capable of absorbing the less palatable lessons of professional soccer.
Roy Keane spoke wistfully about the failure of his players to exercise cynicism when necessary against Belgium. They had no compunction about doing it yesterday.
Long and Séamus Coleman both dived, Long doing it to ensure he won a penalty that may have been deserved but was secured with a flamboyant fall.
There was a time when diving was treated with revulsion in these islands.
Now it is regarded as evidence of street smarts.
Cunning brought Ireland through 45 minutes, but eventually the imbalance in talent told. Ireland are out. The adventure is over. All that’s left of them now are the memories.