Stephen Kenny and Ireland remain winless in 12 Nations League games as Ukraine punish lack of cutting edge
TICKETS, flowers, a standing ovation and then a goal.
Ireland’s hospitality went a little too far as they gifted Ukraine the three points as our dismal Nations League record continued.
There was an awkwardness about this match, as inconsequential as it was in the context of what continues to unfold at home for the opposition.
Yes, we wanted them to know we care and, on that front, the FAI did not put a foot wrong.
The association had distributed 3,500 free tickets to the Ukrainian refugee community as well as making a €100,000 donation to the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Appeal.
Although most of those donning blue and yellow were in the Havelock Square end, there was a smattering throughout the ground, suggesting that further tickets had been independently sourced.
On Tuesday, Séamus Coleman put his own injury disappointment behind him to spend some time with kids llia Sydorenko and Mattvii Rybkin.
The real treat came when he then called his Ukrainian team-mate at Everton, Vitaliy Mykolenko, for him to speak to his compatriots.
The Donegal man was at his ambassadorial best again when, after the anthems, he led the mascots to distribute their sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, to those cheering for the away side.
Normally, when a camera shot shows a crowd heavily populated by women and children, it is seen as a sign of progress, the game becoming more accessible beyond its usual male adult demographic.
Here, it served as a stark reminder of who has been left behind to try and defend their country against a much bigger aggressor.
At the visitors’ pre-match Press conference, there were sympathetic queries from Irish journalists about how players had been personally affected by the Russian invasion.
The Ukrainians who had logged in on Zoom had more straightforward football queries.
With the nature of the relationship between sport and politics again becoming a hot topic this week, the different focus showed that, perhaps, football is viewed as an escape.
Over the preceding week, Ukraine had been feted in Britain, impressing against both Scotland and Wales, beating the former but somehow losing to the latter.
That defeat in Cardiff deprived them of a place on the global stage to remind people of their nationhood.
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Having seen Russia excluded from the World Cup play-offs, successfully negotiating that route to reach the finals in Qatar would have been savoured.
With that disappointment still festering, Olexandr Petrakov predictably named a very different line-up from the one which had lost on Sunday with Mykolenko the only survivor. Their starting XI contained seven home-based players, all of whom last played a competitive club match in February.
Ireland’s task was clear, to do and say all the right things in advance of kick-off, but to then take advantage of the opposition’s lack of match sharpness and cohesion afterwards.
They got the first bit spot on but struggled once the whistle blew.
Actually, that is not entirely accurate, there was a decent start with their high pressing resulting in them turning over the ball in and around the Ukrainian box three times in quick succession, the last of them forcing a corner.
And if Ireland were able to add half-chances together to create whole ones, they might be a side to be reckoned with.
But, right now, this current crop lacks the guile to really penetrate anything other than moderate teams.
We need to be able to overcome better sides than Azerbaijan, Luxembourg and Qatar to be convinced that we are any closer to the footballing nirvana that Stephen Kenny spoke of.
Even the Ukrainian B team is above average and, slowly, the yellow shirts warmed to their task. They got to grips with Ireland at the back and began to exert pressure at the other end.
VAR saved us once but not a second time.
Before the break, Ukraine had a goal chalked off, not for Taras Kacharaba’s push on Jason Knight before he fired home but because Artem Dovbyk had been offside prior to his pull back.
After the interval, there was no reprieve when substitute Viktor Tsygankoc’s free-kick evaded everyone, Caoimhín Kelleher included.
An utterly avoidable goal, stemming from a John Egan foul.
The sight of the ball flying into the top corner beyond Kelleher’s outstretched hand is becoming a little too familiar for everyone’s liking.
The contrasting emotions of deflation and elation jostled in the stands.
If the World Cup is the ultimate stage, Group B of the Nations League is more akin to a tribute act dialling it in at a working man’s club.
Try telling that to those who have found their lives upended, their families torn apart and given this opportunity to come together and celebrate their besieged country in this foreign land in which they have found themselves.
It was hard to begrudge them their victory and, under other circumstances, Kenny might have been inclined to agree. But Kenny is not in a position where he can afford to write off results to good causes.
In Yerevan, the day before the match, he baulked when his previous record in the Nations League was mentioned, because of how Covid-19 had disrupted the last campaign.
There are no such excuses now. The excited ambition of topping the group is gone after two defeats.
Again, a towering centre-half was our biggest attacking threat with Shane Duffy cracking a header off the crossbar and having a late shot blocked.
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There was no lack of effort on Ireland’s part which suggests Kenny has not lost the dressing room.
But the problem is he has lost another match.
That needs to change. And quickly.