Stephen Kenny and James McClean end Ireland stints with lacklustre draw against New Zealand
Ireland 1 New Zealand 1
Ireland's James McClean shakes hands with Evan Ferguson after he is substituted during his last international appearance
Donning an all-black kit to see out one of the most dismal calendar years in the modern history of the Irish national team was a fitting end to an instantly-forgettable 2023.
On a night when the curtain came down on the international career of one man, James McClean winning his 103rd and final cap and the axe was poised over the manager Stephen Kenny with his inevitable exit to be confirmed in a matter of days, Ireland could not even see out the year with a win, a 1-1 draw in Dublin with a gutsy and well-drilled New Zealand side who made the most of their limited resources to inflict even more misery on the Irish support in the Dublin 4 crowd of 26,517.
From a position of superiority, thanks to an opportunistic goal midway through the first half from Adam Idah, the Irish side who gave up the right to wear green to favour the black kit also gave up the lead, and made a New Zealand outfit, with their players drawn from clubs in the lower leagues in England, Denmark and Germany look far better than form suggested.
A welcome goal for Idah, some bright play from Mikey Johnston, a solid full debut from Mark Sykes and a first senior cap for Andy Moran were as close to positives as Ireland could try to claim but, in truth, this was a winnable that Ireland in the end, deserved to lose as the Kiwis finished stronger and would have had their win only for a last-gasp block from Ryan Manning.
Just as earlier this week Kenny pleaded for his defeats to major powers like Netherlands, France and Portugal to be put into context, most of those losses by a one-goal margin, so too does context need
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