10-man Ireland wilt in Lyon furnace

France 2 Republic of Ireland 1: We’ll always have Lille and, for just short of an hour yesterday afternoon, an Irish team that the nation had taken to its heart made us think that we might have Lyon too.

But in the space of eight rudely transformative minutes, French class and Irish self-destruction combined to restore football’s natural order. With an almost shocking abruptness, 1-0 to Ireland became 2-1 to France and, with Shane Duffy’s expulsion, it was 11 v 10 in favour of Les Bleus too. After that, the newly cocky hosts were cruising their way to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals and Ireland were going nowhere but home.

But not before we saw a real lump in the throat moment unfold in a corner of the Stade de Lyon as Irish players, management and staff stood in respectful, almost awed silence in front of aa travelling support who paid heartfelt tribute. And among those waving sadly at the stands were a number of players who were probably also waving goodbye for the final time as part of an Irish squad: the likes of Robbie Keane and Shay Given and maybe too John O’Shea and even Wes Hoolahan.