Time's up: This campaign has shown how far off Stephen Kenny is tactically
Saturday was Stephen Kenny’s final chance to snaffle that away win over a big nation he constantly craved but his inability to beat middling and lower nations ultimately removes debate about his future.
Had Ireland done what was expected of them by beating fourth-seeded Greece, they might have reached the competitive level for qualification which the FAI declare in their strategic plan as the minimum target.
That didn’t require the utopian accomplishment Kenny spoke of against the Netherlands in Amsterdam.
“The reason no Irish team in history has beaten a team of Holland’s calibre away from home – and there have been better teams than us – is because it’s bloody hard,” he stressed in the bowels of the Johan Cruyff Arena late on Saturday night.
“It’s really difficult to beat a tier-one nation like that away from home in a qualifier.” At least he’s finally, albeit belatedly, confronting the reality of being Ireland manager.
Kenny’s elevation to the senior job in 2020 was accompanied by aspirational soundbites of taking on the giants of Europe on their own terms and conquering.
This campaign has shown how far off that level he is, most damningly tactically.
Ireland’s only goal over the 380 minutes against the top seeds of the French and Dutch was Adam Idah’s penalty in Dublin in September.
The weekend rematch entailed a single attempt on target – Alan Browne’s early strike straight at Bart Verbruggen – because Idah’s one on the hour that trickled over the line didn’t count due to the offside flag eventually rising.
How the Dutch didn’t add to Wout Weghorst’s 11th-minute rising shot inside Gavin Bazunu’s near post was the only mystery as Tijjani Reijnders and Cody Gakpo squandered sitters but the Ireland goalkeeper winning
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