Not quite moral victory of old but draw offers hope for future

Not a result that will go down in history but one that should offer optimism for the future.

While this friendly didn’t exactly offer enough fire or excitement for the fixture to be played more often than every 18 years, it’s difficult to be negative about a 1-1 draw away to one of the globe’s better nations — whatever the endless hype about England’s true level. A new Irish team, however, are beginning to find theirs.

As a consequence of Roy Hodgson’s aversion to possession and playing through the middle, England can often resemble a higher-quality version of Ireland 2008-11. Giovanni Trapattoni has started to move on from that template through the introduction of this brand new core but, given how few games they’ve played together at this point, some gaps in the make-up are inevitable and understandable.

Ireland did attempt to make up for that with the kind of full-blooded commitment you would expect of a game with such emotional dimensions. One James McCarthy challenge on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 25th minute summed this up. A Seamus Coleman block on a Jermain Defoe shot in the 86th then closed it all up.

Continuing the theme from the 0-0 draw away to Sweden, too, Ireland’s midfielders and full-backs did attempt to play the ball to feet much more frequently than in those first three years under Trapattoni.

If it wasn’t always perfect, it did produce some genuinely exciting counter-attacks. There were a number of occasions when Aiden McGeady cut inside to cause problems for England. Often, however, the final ball was lacking.

You could not say the same for Shane Long. It’s difficult to think of a more emphatic, plundering header than his 13th-minute goal. It was gorgeous in its sheer power. The move also represented Ireland’s best, with the lively Coleman providing an exceptional cross for what must now be the squad’s highest-quality striker.

When Trapattoni was receiving criticism for refusing to at least use a newer breed more over the last few years, this was what people were referring to. It can’t be too much of a wonder that the side’s best players — McCarthy, Coleman and Long — offered the finest performances on a stage such as this.

Trapattoni has always pointed to a lack of experience when defending such previous decisions and, to a degree, the more negative aspects of the Irish performance offered a reminder that he was often right too.

On the eve of the game, he argued that his side would never have conceded that last-minute goal to Austria if they had the assurance of Richard Dunne and that senior defence on the pitch. You could say the same about England’s equaliser.

By the time Frank Lampard got the touch that gave him his impressive 29th goal for England, there were seven Irish players in the box with most of them just watching. You can bet the manager pointed to the pretty big detail of the Chelsea midfielder making those kind of runs before the game. It evidently went unheeded.

The fact Daniel Sturridge was so easily allowed to get in a cross despite facing two markers was just as bad. England also soon realised that they could derive a lot of joy from running at Stephen Kelly. For a troubling period before the end of the first half, Walcott was causing all kinds of problems with clever use of his pace.

It will perhaps end up as one of the unfortunate ironies of Trapattoni’s era. Just when Ireland start to add more vibrancy and nuance to their attack, they lose the defensive assurance on which they built those first two respectable campaigns.

At the least, the dependability of the goalkeeper has remained constant. It is to David Forde’s huge credit that no-one even remarks on Shay Given’s retirement anymore and that is all the more impressive given the defence is that bit weaker too. Not only was he always steady in claiming every single ball confidently, he often stood out. As England increased the pressure late on, he made a series of fine saves, especially from Oxlade-Chamberlain’s one-on-one.

That ensured the score also ended 1-1, the fourth time in the last five meetings between these two teams that the game has ended like that, with Irish fans again happier than their English counterparts. The final whistle was met with loud cheers.

Not quite the moral victory of old, but a game to draw encouragement from for what is to come.