How the Irish fared: Ireland hero Shane Duffy turns villain

After the highs of recent weeks, Shane Duffy was sent crashing back to earth on Saturday as the big defender was sent off in Blackburn’s 2-1 Championship defeat at Preston.

Duffy had proven the hero of the hour in Blackburn’s previous game, smashing home a late winner against Brentford before staking his claim for inclusion in the final 23-man squad for the Euros with a commanding display in Ireland’s 1-0 friendly win over Switzerland.

However, things unravelled on Saturday as, with Blackburn a goal to the good, Duffy couldn’t resist the temptation to use his hand to stop a goal-bound strike from finding the net after 24 minutes.