Cruel end to the dream on night of much promise for Ireland as Slovakia progress 

Matt Doherty of Republic of Ireland reacts after missing his penalty, as Slovakia players celebrate, following defeat in the penalty-shootout of the UEFA EURO2020 Qualifying Play-Off semi-final. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

The dream is over. Stephen Kenny's Republic of Ireland could have won this Euro 2020 playoff semi-final after 90 minutes. They had chances to clinch it during the 30 that followed but a game compromised by Covid-19 was eventually lost to the visitors via the ultimate lottery of a penalty shootout.

Ireland started slowly but grew into the game and even dominated some of it with a style of football which the new manager had promised but seen so rarely in recent decades. The pity now is that we won't witness some more of it in Dublin at the finals next summer.

Conor Hourihane and Robbie Brady found the net in the shootout but then Alan Browne, so impressive after coming on, missed Ireland's third effort from the spot. The night ended when Matt Doherty thumped the fourth off the crossbar.

Cruel doesn't describe it.

If there is an Irish team playing in the Aviva at the Euros it will be the North who will face the Slovaks in the playoff final next month now after another shootout, against Bosnia-Herzegovina, went their way.

The drama started earlier than normal. James McClean was in and Aaron Connolly out. Kenny confirmed that the switch had been a late one and then came the rider: neither Connolly nor Adam Idah were even in the matchday squad. No further facts were forthcoming.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Shortly afterwards and the FAI released a statement confirming that a second member of their backroom team, who had returned a negative when a colleague inside the bubble had tested positive earlier in the week, had now done likewise for Covid but was asymptomatic.

The show would go on, said Uefa. It had to.

Slovakia had already lost key midfielder Stanislav Lobotka to quarantine issues at his club in Naples while central defender Milan Skriniar had tested positive on the eve of the game. And this was supposed to be a night when we could forget about the pandemic.

It all overshadowed the other issues of note in the starting XI, namely David McGoldrick's inclusion at centre-forward and the choice of Callum Robinson to his right. Neither was a surprise and the rest of the side was more or less set in stone.

McClean, who has had many critics, did well. The Stoke City winger broke up a number of Slovakia moves and provided an outlet on the left. He also had Ireland's best chance of the first-half when mishitting a shot inside the area after it found him via a Matt Doherty cross.

That was 37 minutes in and deep into a period when Ireland had begun to enjoy more and more of the possession but without ever truly threatening the home net. A David McGoldrick header that went well over the bar seven minutes earlier was about it for the rest of the period.

McClean provided the ball for that one, too.

The hosts dominated the ball early on and Marek Hamsik, their veteran playmaker, was a joy to watch, especially early on. It was his through ball for Ondrej Duda in the earlier exchanges that almost cut Ireland open. It was a matter of inches too long.

For all their geometric passing moves, Slovakia were more of a threat on the counter and they almost opened the scoring at both ends of the first-half. McClean's covering saved the day the first time and a world-class Darren Randolph save from Duda kept it level right on the break.

Hamsik came close to heading a Hourihane free-kick into his own net soon after the restart but Ireland weren't creating anything of their own at that point as the Slovaks dominated possession and won a succession of corners.

Change came on the hour, Alan Browne replacing James McCarthy after the latter pulled up with a leg injury and Robbie Brady swapping in for McClean. Brady lined out wide right with Robinson switching over so that they played with inverted wingers.

Ireland eventually found some fluency in the final third and McGoldrick was centrally involved in two gilt-edged chances after 70 and 85 minutes: the first when Browne's shot was batted away by Marek Rodak, the second when Hourihane's side foot was stopped by a boot on the line.

The first was a nice height for the keeper, the second should really have been put away.

The game was opening up more and more as the minutes stacked up but that brought threat as well as promise with Shane Duffy clearing off the Irish line in between those efforts after Lukasz Haraslin directed a shot past Randolph.

Into extra-time and Ireland's grip on the game only tightened. McGoldrick forced a save from Rodak as the first period opened and Browne clipped a post as it came to an end. The second period passed with far less of note. The crescendo was close.

Slovakia: D Rodak; P Pekarik, D Vavro, M Valjent, R Mazan; J Kucka, P Hrosovsky, M Hamsik; A Rusnak, O Duda, J Mihalik.

Substitutes: L Haraslin for Mihalik (74); J Gregus for Kucka and R Mak for Rusnak (both 86); R Bozenik for Duda (108); N Gyomber for Vavro (112).

Republic of Ireland: D Randolph; M Doherty, S Duffy, J Egan, E Stevens, J Hendrick, J McCarthy, C Hourihane, C Robinson, D McGoldrick, J McClean.

Substitutes: R Brady for McClean and A Browne for McCarthy (both 60); C O'Dowda for Robinson (99); S Long for McGoldrick (112).

Referee: C Turpin (France).