A marriage that endured much more angst than joy

In truth, the obituaries could have been written once the whistle went in Astana. The sombre atmosphere before kick-off in Vienna was unmistakable and the defeat was, in reality, merely an additional detail.

A miracle would still have been required if Ireland managed the unthinkable and got a win last night because the realisation that dreams of the Copacabana were dead had already set in.

Fittingly, to maintain the funereal theme, Ireland wore their black strip in the country where FAI officials first met with Giovanni Trapattoni back in 2008 to offer him the job when he was still manager of Red Bull Salzburg.