Distraught John Egan: 'We’re all gutted inside there. Just gutted not to get a result'

John Egan opening the scoring in Faro. Picture: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Numbers. Cruel numbers.

Ireland held their own for 45 minutes. Plus stoppage time and then held a lead for another 44. For seven minutes they clung on to the consolation that was a battling 1-1 draw and then came the second goal and they trailed according to the only numbers that counted.

Ronaldo. It just had to be Cristiano Ronaldo.

“And I thought we limited him all night,” John Egan told RTÉ afterwards. “He was drifting out to the left and we contained him as best we could but two chances and two goals and that’s why he had the career he has had and regarded as one of the best players ever. It’s just disappointing we couldn’t keep him quiet for the whole game.”

The man himself acted afterwards like it was never in doubt.

Shepherded into an interview with Tony O’Donoghue, Manchester United’s returning star managed to stay still for two questions, the latter of them on how he stuck at it after Gavin Bazunu thwarted his first attempt to break the world record for international goals from the penalty spot.

“It’s part of the game, it’s part of the business,” said the 36-year old, “but I still believed until the end of the game. Sometimes you score and sometimes you make a mistake but I’m so glad to score and to win the game.”

It looked for so long as if Egan’s own header on the stroke of half-time would win the day for the visitors

“I usually go around the back but Duffy or someone said just get across the front this time and the ball was perfect. I managed to get a glance on it and just in front of my mum as well so it was special. Just heartbreaking that we couldn’t get a result to go with it.”

This was a performance that harked back to some of the Republic’s great days, Egan invoking some of those old memories himself when comparing his knock-down for an Aaron Connolly chance in the second-half to the type of assist that Niall Quinn excelled at during his long stint in the green shirt.

Effective though Egan was in front of the Portuguese goal, he was quick to pay a glowing tribute to Adam Idah who led the line for most of the night and delivered a coming-of-age performance against defenders of the quality of Pepe and Ruben Dias “Adam Idah led the line unbelievable, he is up against two world-class centre-halves and he absolutely dominated them from start to finish and we created openings on the counter.”

And there was similar praise for Bazunu, the 19-year old Dubliner who had denied Ronaldo with that spot-kick save and made a multiple of other interventions that fuelled the belief that this could be one of the great nights.

“He’s fantastic. Top young keeper and we have Caoimhin (Kelleher) as well who didn’t play tonight, two outstanding talents. Gavin showed how good he is tonight to save a penalty like that. It was a good penalty and unbelievable save and it gave us a platform to build on.”

There is little time to lick any wounds. Azerbaijan await in Dublin at the weekend and Serbia follow them into the Aviva next Tuesday but the manner of how the win here, and then the draw, was ripped from them will sting. Maybe forever.

“Just honestly gutting,” said Egan. “We’re all gutted inside there. Just gutted not to get a result.”