Ireland get it half right but familiar failings return

Republic of Ireland 1 Serbia 2

In the end, the costly upshot was the first defeat of the Martin O’Neill era, as a failing which has been an unwelcome feature of previous regimes came back to haunt the new man. For here, yet again, was an Irish side surrendering the initiative from a position of strength, after Shane Long had given the home side a dream start with an early goal.

Unhappily, the Hull man’s own failure to add to his tally — he could and should have had a hat-trick — was, in turn, compounded by individual errors and a conspicuous lack of leadership at the back, of which Serbia were only too happy to take advantage.