Alan Smith: Ireland have come of age at the least expected moment

Whatever happens Sunday, there will be a deeper long-term importance to a magical Thursday night. Just when we thought we were out, Ireland have pulled us back in.

Seamus Coleman of the Republic of Ireland, left, and Robbie Brady celebrate. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Fuelled by the most logic-defying evening in their recent history, there is now no reason not to believe in an outcome that appeared unbelievable two days ago.

When Nathan Collins leads Ireland onto the field at Puskas Arena tomorrow afternoon an unfamiliar feeling of confidence should course through the veins of players who have been written off, derided and jeered by so many for so long. Quite unfairly, it turns out.

This squad has come of age at the least expected moment, when the number of external believers was at its lowest, and suddenly they have a shot at completing a remarkable redemption arc.

Imbued with the faith that comes from an era-shaping win that only those within the dressing room will have been convinced was possible, the route to a place at next summer’s World Cup remains entirely, improbably, in their own hands.

The trendlines all suggest this should still be a tall order. Ireland last won three in a row in 2016, a run that featured their only competitive away win against a higher-ranked team since FIFA started charting such things in 1992.

Yet what transpired on Thursday has reminded everyone – in case we had forgotten over these desperate, dark few years – that the form guide and rationality can still conveniently mean nothing when it comes to the Boys in Green.

“If we can do that (against Portugal), we can beat anyone,” Collins said as the dust settled at Lansdowne Road. Who, aside from the players and staff, would have believed him several hours earlier?

The ability of a professional athlete to absorb setbacks and maintain steadfast belief to a level that would be considered outright delusional in other industries is often not appreciated enough.

While many fans (and indeed the media that Heimir Halgrimmson has jostled with) have been numbed by the cycle of defeat and disappointment over the past nine years, these players have ploughed on to reach a point where the perception towards a whole generation of them has been permanently altered.

Sure, that may sound fickle but it also feels fair.

Beyond the highlights of reliving the joy of Troy Parrott’s double and rejoicing at Cristiano Ronaldo’s tantrum, rewatching their resounding success in full is a worthwhile act to confirm how deserving Ireland were. This was not just a win; it was a lesson in precise execution.

Aside from the first few minutes and dying embers, there were few moments requiring Richard-Dunne-in-Moscow heroism because Halgrimmson’s gameplan was so effective and so well carried out.

Caoimhín Kelleher’s only big save, from Goncalo Ramos, came in the final knockings. The defensive line performed as a fluid unit that was the antithesis of the disjointed, error-strewn mess that almost derailed this campaign against far weaker opponents in September.

Josh Cullen, who has so often failed to transfer his solid body of work in club football to the international stage, produced his most accomplished performance in a green shirt. Vitinha, one of the game’s premier deep-lying midfielders, became an inferior direct opponent for one night only.

To see Chiedozie Ogbene at full speed again, having battled back from a severe achilles injury that can too often spell the end, was a delight. He preyed on the weaknesses of Portugal’s surprisingly flimsy defence and was only denied a sumptuous goal by the post.

Then there was Troy Parrott – a poster boy for perseverance. Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of his senior international debut. It has taken quite some time for him to translate potential into meaningful production. Now he will go down in lore as the hero from one of the great nights.

Ronaldo’s display of supreme petulance may have reduced the visitors’ chances of a fightback but, actually, there was no fortune needed. Once the laughter at his dismissal eventually subsides at some point in the next few years, it is worth being mindful that it must not distract from how well Ireland played.

Now they will try to do it again in front of an expectant and raucous Budapest crowd that has form for turning sour if the on-pitch action is not to their taste. Applying the strategy spelled out by Hallgrimsson before Portugal – keep it tight and frustrate early on, put ‘em under increasing pressure as the game wears on – appears a rather obvious route to quietening the Hungarian ultras.

Remaining the underdogs against opponents feeling a pressure they had not anticipated should make for a more comfortable environment and Collins certainly struck the right note by simplifying matters before departing the Aviva.

“We just need to win,” he said. “Nothing else, no other strings attached. Just win a match, a game of football.” How does not matter, even if they have just spelled out how they can.

This is no effort to tempt fate but what reaching a World Cup would mean to the younger generations cannot be understated and not just for the thousands of still growing supporters who will have been going to Lansdowne Road for years without witnessing a single landmark victory.

Among this squad only Seamus Coleman, who was 13, will have clear memories of the last time we graced the greatest stage of all. The next oldest of those involved against Portugal, Cullen and Ogbene, would have been in infant classes. The majority of players were still wearing nappies.

For anyone under the age of 30, the reference points for 2002 are grainy YouTube footage of Robbie Keane’s celebrations and, likely, tedious recollections from their elders of what happened before the tournament.

Which is a plain way to say that it has been too long. And yet because of how this opportunity has come about, the pressure should not weigh heavily either.

Consider the alternative reality for a moment. Should it not go to script, should this stirring fightback fall agonisingly short, there remains a deeper long-term importance to this magical Thursday night. Belief in the Irish football team has been re-established. Just when we thought we were out, they have pulled us back in.