Beating Austria is Martin O’Neill’s sole focus

The clocks inside the MetLife Stadium hadn’t yet ticked over to the 20-minute mark but a three-letter word that has been the soundtrack to so many good days in Irish football was now marking a pretty bad one.

The Mexican masses, who made up over 90% of the 42,017 in attendance in New Jersey, were savouring what they were seeing — their country 1-0 up and toying with Ireland. Olés peppered the air as Mexican midfielders retained possession with ease. It may have been a friendly but this was bordering on cruel.

Within five minutes they would be two goals to the good. That it was the final margin of victory had more to do with Mexico easing up and Darren Randolph refusing to wilt in the Irish goals than anything else. Because for the first hour, Martin O’Neill’s experimental Ireland malfunctioned spectacularly.