Matt Garbett ruined James McClean’s farewell party as the Republic of Ireland were held to an embarrassing friendly draw by New Zealand.
Both McClean – who was making his 103rd and final senior appearance for his country – and manager Stephen Kenny, out of contract on the final whistle and with seemingly little hope of an extension, might have hoped for a rousing conclusion at the Aviva Stadium.
But a paltry crowd of 26,517 saw NAC Breda midfielder Garbett cancel out Adam Idah’s first-half opener to claim a 1-1 draw on a night when Ireland, who have slipped to 58th place in FIFA’s world rankings table, were at times out-played by a side some 45 places below them.
A review of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, which ended fruitlessly for the Republic with Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by the Netherlands, will be considered by the Football Association of Ireland’s board next week, but evidence of the progress Kenny believes has been made was in painfully short supply once again.
Ireland, starting with a flat back four, made an uncertain start as the All Whites enjoyed early possession in their opponent’s half, but as McClean and Celtic winger Mikey Johnston got the bit between his teeth down the left, they started to make an impression.
New Zealand defender Michael Boxall had to be in the right place at the right time to deny first McClean and then – from the resulting corner – central defender Shane Duffy, with the home side pinning the visitors back.
Kenny’s men continued to dominate possession but found space at a premium as the All Whites defended their box resolutely until the 28th minute when they were finally pierced, if with an element of controversy.
Sligo defender Nando Pijnaker felt he had been caught by Mark Sykes – making a first start for his country – as he dispossessed him, but his appeals for a free-kick went unanswered as the midfielder found striker Idah, who made no mistake.
The visitors might have been back in it seven minutes later when, after the Irish defence had struggled to deal with Tim Payne’s cross, skipper Chris Wood diverted Marko Stamenic’s shot wide with his knee as it sped across goal to the relief of goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Kelleher was called upon for the first time three minutes later when he clawed the excellent Sarspreet Singh’s curling attempt out of his top corner and he saw the same man fire into the side-netting after being released by Liberato Cacace in a strong finish to the first half by Darren Bazeley’s men.
The Liverpool goalkeeper departed at the break to be replaced by Mark Travers and the newcomer suffered a scare within four minutes when Singh picked out Garbett with a cross and saw the striker lift a shot wastefully over the top.
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Jayson Molumby fired just wide after being set up by Johnston and Duffy headed a McClean corner straight at goalkeeper Max Crocombe with Ireland responding, but they were rocked with 59 minutes gone when Singh again stretched the home defence and when the ball fell to Garbett on the edge of the box, he smashed it past the helpless Travers to level.
Singh tested Travers with a 64th-minute strike and Kenny chose that moment to make two significant changes, the first to replace Idah with Evan Ferguson and the second to hand McClean a standing ovation as he made way for Ryan Manning as his international career drew to a close.
Andy Moran was handed a senior debut as Kenny looked for inspiration, but Travers had to rescue defender Andrew Omobamidele after substitute Max Mata went for goal and substitute Ryan Manning prevented Mata from winning it at the death, while the final whistle came as a merciful release for the home fans.
Nobbs makes record-breaking WSL appearance as Aston Villa lose to Brighton
Aston Villa's Jordan Nobbs is now the outright leader for Women's Super League appearances after playing her 193rd game.
The midfielder started on Saturday, though she could not help Villa avoid a 4-2 defeat to Brighton, who were inspired by full debutant Nikita Parris.
While Nobbs could not mark her special day with a victory, there can be no taking away from the 31-year-old's achievement.
Nobbs' tally includes eight appearances in the WSL Spring Series. Before Saturday, she was level with Chelsea's Sophie Ingle, who is out injured.
She has started 158 games in total, and taken part in a hugely impressive 124 wins - only now-retired Stephanie Houghton has won more WSL matches (127).
Nobbs has scored 58 goals in the competition, a figure bettered by just six players, while only eight players have provided more assists than her 31. She has created 312 goalscoring chances for her team-mates, with Beth Mead (339) having crafted more.
The majority of Nobbs' appearances came for Arsenal, as she played 157 times for the Gunners. Saturday's loss at Brighton marked her 36th WSL match for Villa, who she joined in 2023.
Her 21 starts in the 2016-17 campaign, meanwhile, has marked the most matches she played in from the off during a single season.
Nobbs, who has won 71 caps for England, has won the WSL on three occasions (2011, 2012 and 2018-19), winning the FA Cup four times.
Simeone: No negativity in Atletico Madrid camp
Diego Simeone has dismissed claims of negativity surrounding Atletico Madrid following their resounding 4-0 Champions League defeat to Benfica in midweek.
Los Colchoneros are unbeaten in LaLiga after eight matches, winning four and drawing four, sitting five points behind leaders Barcelona, ahead of Sunday's trip to Real Sociedad.
However, they were trounced by Benfica in their second match in the Champions League's new league phase on Wednesday, the first time they had shipped four goals in a Champions League group-stage game since October 2020 (0-4 at Bayern Munich).
"I don't think that there is a negative climate. I believe our atmosphere is good and we are working towards the team we want to have," Simeone told reporters on Saturday.
"There are players who arrived in the last days of the transfer window, and they are acclimatising.
"From our position, we need to help them adapt as quickly as possible so the team can take shape swiftly. I don't see that as negativity at all."
Atletico bolstered their squad with new signings Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez ahead of the new campaign, and Simeone is still waiting for his players to gel.
"I didn't see the team lacking commitment or intensity, but rather a lack of creative play and resources ... Let's see if we can win against Sociedad," Simeone added.
Motta: Juventus players will 'give something more' after Bremer injury
Thiago Motta believes the Juventus players will "all give something more" for Bremer after he suffered a potentially season-ending injury.
The Brazilian, who had played every single minute this season, was forced off with an anterior cruciate ligament injury early in their 3-2 Champions League win over RB Leipzig on Wednesday.
He has played a big part in Juventus keeping six clean sheets from six games in the league and has played more minutes (540) while making the most interceptions (six) and blocks (11) among his team-mates in the competition.
Motta expects him to be a big miss against Cagliari at the weekend.
"Gleison [Bremer] is an important player for us," Motta said. "I'm very sorry for the boy, because already, humanly speaking, he is fantastic, technically I don't need to say it, we all know it.
"From now on we will all give something more, also because if it had been another team-mate who had to stop like that, I am convinced that he would have taken this responsibility to give something more every day."
Motta will also be without forward Timothy Weah, winger Nicolas Gonzalez, midfielder Vasilije Adzic, along with long-term absentee Arkadius Milik, but the manager expects a positive show from the players who come into the side.
"Whoever comes in, I am convinced they will give something more," Motta said.
"Always thinking about the well-being of the team and giving a good performance to obtain the positive result, which is what we want to do.
"Tomorrow, in our stadium, our home, in front of our fans, a full ground, a great football atmosphere and we will do our job well from the first to the last minute."
Juventus impressed in Europe, recovering not only from early injuries to Bremer and Gonzalez, but also from going behind twice, and having keeper Michele Di Gregorio sent off.
Now, Motta wants his side to keep that enthusiasm without getting carried away.
"The enthusiasm, used well, is always good, and we use it to work," the manager said.
"We use it to come to the pitch every day and do our job well. This is the great advantage of being able to work with enthusiasm.
"It helps, and we want to maintain that enthusiasm, but it only depends on us. We will always have our feet on the ground, aware of our strengths, and using our strengths in the right way."
French midfielder Paul Pogba had his four-year doping suspension cut to 18 months on Friday, meaning he can return to action in March, but Motta's only concern is the immediate future of his team.
"On Paul Pogba, the club will evaluate what to do," Motta said.
"As for me, Pogba has been a great player, who hasn't played for a long time. Now I'm focused on tomorrow's game and everything else doesn't matter much to me at this moment."
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