And upon this rock he will build his church

It’s the second coming of Mick McCarthy and upon this Rock he will build his church. Laying the foundations for the manager’s one-shot bid to reach Euro 2020 should not prove too taxing, even on an artificial pitch and in the teeth of a howling wind.

And even against a Gibraltar side boosted by being able to stay at home in the European Championships after they enjoyed the giddy sensation of a narrow 2-1 win over Liechtenstein in the Victoria Ground in last year’s Nations League. More remarkably, that result came just after they’d claimed their first three points of the campaign with an unlikely 1-0 away win against Armenia, matching Ireland’s record in Yerevan, incidentally, where it will be remembered that a Keith Fahey goal secured victory under Giovanni Trapattoni.