John Fallon: Playoff win can't disguise Ireland's threadbare midfield options

For the June friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg, based on his current trajectory in France with Reims, John Patrick Finn will likely bank a debut call-up.

Josh Cullen and Jason Knight acted manfully as the pivots in both games against Bulgaria but World Cup qualifying opponents Hungary and Portugal are likely to exploit their shortcomings. Pic: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile

ON THE LAST occasion Ireland strung together a sequence of wins, they were dead rubbers, whereas the latest blitz arrived in advance of the serious qualifiers.

Stephen Kenny’s side were already out of the 2022 World Cup reckoning from a five-match winless start to the campaign.