'We're going to get better': Stephen Kenny unfazed by another blank amid adversity

Ireland’s Shane Long and Jeff Hendrick react to a missed chance. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

The record books will show another blank where Ireland's goalscorers should be, the lack of a single win across Stephen Kenny's first four games in charge and seven Nations League ties since the competition's inception without one victory for the Republic of Ireland.

You could look at it like that. Or you could put things in their true context.

Ireland lost a Euro 2020 playoff in devastating fashion to Slovakia on Thursday evening. They arrived back on Friday morning when the rest of the nation wasn't even thinking about stirring and they faced a decent Welsh team here minus a dozen players from Kenny's original squad.

Five of those absentees were for injury-related reasons with David McGoldrick and James McCarthy dropping out of the side that lost to Slovakia on penalties and joining Seamus Coleman, Harry Arter and Darragh Lenihan in the casualty bays.

Aaron Connolly and Adam Idah were long back in England with their clubs after missing out in Bratislava due to their close contact with a member of staff whose positive test for Covid-19 is now suspected of being a false positive.

Others to fall victim to the pandemic's ripple effect were John Egan, Callum Robinson, Callum O'Dowda and Alan Browne: all deemed to be close contacts of another player who had returned a positive Covid-19 test over the weekend.

The FAI did not name the player to return that positive but Derrick Williams was the only other available member who was not named in a reduced matchday squad of just 18 players that included three goalkeepers and just five outfield players on the bench.

So, yeah, maybe a failure to score here was something that Kenny could accept.

"Genuinely it's not something I was concerned about,” said the manager. “The fact that we had to make an incredible amount of changes at short notice today and put in a performance like that... We played 120 minutes the other night, there was a lot of pace missing from the team and the changes I've mentioned already. It isn't a concern really.

“Today wasn't easy with everything that went on... We haven't missed so many with the team we had. I do feel that we're achieving a lot, particularly in the game against Slovakia and, with other players to come in as well,

I do feel that we're going to get better. I definitely feel that. We've a good understanding of what we're working on.

Ireland showed again that they are eminently capable of playing the game that the new manager wants but, while they impressed with some of their passing play and movement, there was again that inability to engineer enough in front of the opposition's goal.

Robbie Brady had the best chance of the first-half when intercepting Harry Wilson's loose pass infield but his carefully considered shot from the edge of the area whistled the wrong side of Wayne Hennessy's post just after the half-hour.

Their best opportunity of the afternoon came Shane Long's way ten minutes after the break when the forward ballooned a header over the bar from an Enda Stevens cross when left in acres of space just eight yards out. Daryl Horgan had a chance later too.

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny with Shane Duffy. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Wales looked happy to plod along in third gear and should have had a penalty when Darren Randolph clattered into Ethan Ampadu in the first period after dropping a cross. The referee, bizarrely, awarded the free-kick to the Ireland stopper.

Maybe the main plus was the performance of Jayson Molumby in the middle. The Brighton & Hove Albion man brings drive and ability to the role and Kenny rates him highly having given him the armband when the pair were involved with the U21s.

“He played last month against Finland when he was out of season and did okay, playing on the right of a midfield three. He was in a midfield two today.

He's a very natural footballer, very quick around the park. He's quite tenacious and has a range of passing. He has a lot of good attributes.

Molumby limped off towards the end so it remains to be seen if he can feature in Helsinki and Kenny has been further compromised by the loss to an eye injury yesterday of Kevin Long and that of James McClean to a second red card with seven minutes to play.

Republic of Ireland's James McClean (right) reacts after fouling Wales' Ethan Ampadu, which resulted in a red card. Picture: Brian Lawless

Reinforcements are expected with U21 duo Dara O'Shea and Jason Knight among the likely lads. Whoever comes in will have Covid tests and the baseline Kenny will be hoping for is that there are no more nasty surprises in that regard.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: D Randolph; M Doherty, S Duffy, K Long, E Stevens; C Hourihane, J Molumby; R Brady, J Hendrick, J McClean; S Long.

Subs: C Christie for K Long (25); D Horgan for Brady and S Maguire for Long (both 73); J Cullen for Molumby (90).

WALES: W Hennesy; C Roberts, J Rodon, E Ampadu, B Davies; D James, M Smith, J Morrell, H Wilson; A Ramsey; K Moore.

Subs: D Levitt for Smith and N Williams for Wilson (both 67); D Brooks for James (77).