Ah, at last a tale of the unexpected to tell. It was still and cold in Croke Park, and we braced ourselves for more of the numbing ordinariness that Ireland have produced under Steve Staunton. Instead we got a grand roaring brazier of a game, stoked by an early goal and a sense of adventure that we thought had gone forever.
The 1-0 win over a competent Slovakia team leaves Ireland notionally in contention to qualify for next year's championships in Switzerland and Austria. It also restored a little of what was missing to Irish soccer and in the process gave a little security of tenure to a beleaguered manager.
The Slovaks arrived with a reputation for being tidy and well organised and we wondered if the Irish would have the heart to dishevel them. The answer came quickly as Damien Duff began to pester the visitors' defence with a reprise of the swashbuckling , menacing performances he used to give us regularly.
Duff gave his best display in some time and he was well aided by the bustling energy of Kevin Doyle.
Doyle's second international goal came in the 12th minute last night. Ireland had already been tearing at the Slovaks for some time when Duff curled a free from the left which Doyle rose for and headed home under pressure.
It was a start which promised more than it delivered. A second goal never came and for periods in the second half the Slovaks' desperate search for an equaliser looked as if it might bear fruit. They came to grief principally on the rock-like figure of Richard Dunne in the centre of the Irish defence.
Ireland now have a six-month sabbatical from competitive action, their next fixture being the return game with Slovakia in Bratislava in September. And a further away game with the Czechs four days later. Steve Staunton marches on but the slope gets steeper.