Heimir Hallgrímsson's Ireland 'trying to take correct steps to continue growing'

While the Irish FA have offered refunds to fans opting out of their wooden spoon contest in Wales, it’s the FAI’s belief that at least 30,000 seats of the capacity 51,000 purchased in advance on Thursday will show up.

MOVING ON: Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson during a Republic of Ireland men's training session. Pic:  Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

After a misstep of major magnitude comes the next minor step towards arriving at big ones again.

Ireland’s history against Macedonia is such that the worst trainer during Mick McCarthy’s camps was forced to don at the next session the orange jersey discarded following the infamous 3-2 defeat in 1997.

A first-ever meeting with the renamed North Macedonia in a friendly on the same night eight European teams are battling for World Cup spots constitutes a tragicomedy for this current Ireland crop.

Had it taken place 24 hours later on April’s Fools Day then the sense of irony would be complete.

No matter how much the Ireland setup attempts to leave Thursday’s World Cup playoff defeat in Czechia behind, it will form a backdrop to this irrelevance.

It’s only because of Uefa’s broadcasting commitments that the two beaten nations from the semi-finals must summon the conviction to park the wounds for 90 minutes.

Heimir Hallgrimsson won’t complain about having his squad together for another game when international matches are increasingly squeezed in a club-dominated calendar but the timing is wretched.

Inside the camp, as much as across the nation, the mourning process at elongating the World Cup drought persists.

Not even an attempt to turn the page with a ‘closure meeting’ on Saturday meeting could prevent players from rerunning that crucial moment four minutes from full-time when Ladislav Krejčí was allowed roam into the penalty area, fling himself into an empty space before the ball hit him – rather than the other around – on its way into the net. 

The lamentable element was illustrated by the manager describing the concession as a ‘fluke’.

“As a footballer, you replay every moment in your mind,” admitted Dara O’Shea, one of the Irish closest to the Wolves defender.

“There’s so many things that go through your mind and that was one.

“This is football and it happens. It’s hard to be perfect for every minute and moment.

“It’s a tough one to take because it came out of nowhere in a sense. We possibly could have defended it better.

“You’d be a long time thinking back over every moment and really regretting it.

“It’s about improving from it, taking the lessons and going again. Let that be a lesson of hopefully not letting it happen again.” 

Hallgrimsson, sitting alongside, wasn’t minded intervening and extinguishing the nightmare.

“The question to Dara kind of explains where we are,” said the Icelander.

“We’re talking about half a step.

“That’s the margin at this level on whether we win the game. It was a split second. We were right there and really close to winning that game.

“That’s where we should focus on, trying to take correct steps to continue growing.

“For me that’s more important than winning or losing. Sometimes it is like this in that you’re unlucky by conceding a goal after a good performance.

“Normally if you have a good performance, and continue how we’ve been playing, we will win this game.

“That’s where my confidence is. Winning is just a side-effect.

“You can always have surprises and it's never a given that you win or lose a game. That is why our sport is the most popular in the world.” 

That it’s the most popular in Ireland too is the reason why the expectation is for a larger turnout than envisaged at the end of penalties in Prague. 

While their neighbours in the Irish FA have offered refunds to fans opting out of their wooden spoon contest in Wales, it’s the FAI’s belief that at least 30,000 seats of the capacity 51,000 purchased in advance on Thursday will show up.

Hallgrimsson views this fixture and the Euro 2028 finals at the same venue as bookending Ireland's schedule for the next two years.

In between there’s four more friendlies, two for a fringe squad in Spain and another pair against Qatar and Canada, before the Uefa Nations League campaign kicks off in Kosovo on September 24.

Those six games in a pool that also includes Israel and Austria will determine Ireland’s seeding in the Euro 2028 draw in Belfast on December 7.

The difference this time is Ireland won’t necessarily need to qualify on the pitch due to a couple of tickets being reserved for the four co-hosts.

With Hallgrimsson’s contract extension covering the entirety and the general sense of goodwill towards the team under his tutelage, this Spring saunter doesn’t have to resemble a funeral atmosphere.

“It’s been tough, and we had our moment after the game together, but what’s so special about this group is how everybody gets together and gets along with each other,” added Ipswich Town defender O’Shea.

“We can easily feel sorry for ourselves, mope around and look at this game as a hindrance but I think everybody is just really excited to get going again.

“We spoke about what we’ve created as a group with the fans and that’s so special for us.

“The feeling of having a whole country behind you is magic, something you can’t underestimate.

“We almost feel there, wanting to keep pushing on because everyone has high standards and to qualify for major tournaments.

“That feeling within ourselves of disappointment has switched to motivation and opportunity.” 

Hallgrimsson has indicated tweaks, rather than an overhaul, will be reflected in his team but the plan is to afford Bosun Lawal his belated debut in midfield. 

Robbie Brady’s injury will likely see Liam Scales return from suspension into the left wing-back berth while substitutes from Thursday, Alan Browne and Adam Idah, seem certain to gain more gametime.

It wasn’t disrespectful that the team ranked nine places behind Ireland in 67 didn’t get a mention during yesterday’s Ireland press conference. 

Each has tunnel-vision on a sliver of redemption.