International friendly:
Republic of Ireland 1 (McAteer 21) Senegal 1 (Sarr 82)
The olé, olé, olé chorus was briefly heard inside the Aviva Stadium when Adam Idah and Cherif Ndiaye became embroiled in some pushing and shoving as injury-time ticked away.
A flash of yellow cards from referee Adam Ladeback calmed the conflict.
Such aggression was sorely missed during the previous 90 minutes as Kasey McAteer’s first goal for the Republic of Ireland was cancelled out by Ismaïla Sarr’s late equaliser.
Heimir Hallgrímsson decided not to interrupt the holidays of Irish players who finished the English Championship season at the start of May.
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His logic made sense. Hallgrímsson wants the likes of Josh Cullen and Finn Azaz fresh for the World Cup qualifiers against Hungary in September and Portugal in October.
Ironically, the Ireland manager still fielded seven Championship players against a noticeably understrength Senegal side as five starters – Ryan Manning, Dara O’Shea, Will Smallbone, Jack Taylor and McAteer – were just relegated from the Premier League.
This stark reality, as much as anything else, sums up the state of Irish football.
Progress tends to be fleeting. Nobody is getting carried away with recent wins over Bulgaria. At least the constant depressive din that followed defeats has been silenced.
Not that the first tie against Senegal will be remembered. For multiple reasons, this was a damp squib. Mainly, both teams either benched or rested their star turns. Liverpool legend Sadio Mané never left Saudi Arabia while Senegal manager Pape Thiaw ran his understudies in Dublin in advance of Tuesday’s glamour tie against Thomas Tuchel’s England at the City Ground in Nottingham.
With a muted crowd at the Aviva Stadium waiting for Hallgrímsson to spring Evan Ferguson, Adam Idah made his second start under the Icelander as a reward for finishing the season with 20 goals for Celtic.
The 32,478 attendance noticed the collection of Serie A and Premier League regulars Thiaw kept on ice. Napoli legend Kalidou Koulibaly, Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye and Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr were conspicuous by their absence – except when they gently warmed up behind the goal.
It was that sort of evening, with the leisurely tempo briefly interrupted by McAteer’s first goal in his first start for his adopted country. After struggling for minutes in a poor Leicester City side, it was just what the Northampton-born winger needed.
McAteer finished on the second attempt when his header drew a fantastic save from Yehvann Diouf after Ryan Manning’s cross was flicked on by Nathan Collins.
Almost immediately, this sorry excuse for a competitive game of international football resumed its snail pace.
Nobody is to blame. The FAI can say they secured a June fixture against a country ranked 19th in the world, even if it was a shadow of the team that will contend at the African Cup of Nations in December.
At half-time, hundreds of fans headed for home as a flock of seagulls swooped in, snatching any unattended food.
The game did provide a blank canvas for Will Smallbone to reclaim his place in the Ireland midfield. The Southampton man will be disappointed with two efforts on goal in either half, one he sprayed wide and the second was parried by Diouf.
Ferguson arrived just before the hour mark, replacing Taylor as Ireland embraced a 4-4-2 formation that the disinterested Senegalese never properly examined for weaknesses.
Little was expected of the 20-year-old, who started only once on loan to West Ham United since January. Match sharpness remains the enemy, but there were glimpses of his rare ability. Enough to suggest he will lead the line against Hungary on September 6th.
Caoimhín Kelleher dominated the headlines this week after securing a €21 million move from Liverpool to Brentford. When called upon, after a deflection off Dara O’Shea almost spun into the Irish net, Kelleher made two solid saves.
The night will be remembered by anyone associated with Killian Philips’s rise from the Dublin suburb of Kilbarrack to winning his first Ireland cap. Socks rolled around his ankles, the 23-year-old did not look out of place.
Besides the low-flying seagulls, the substitutions were the most interesting happenings in the second half until Sarr arrived to score an equaliser. Kelleher will shoulder no blame after he batted a shot by Cherif Ndiaye into the Palace winger’s path.
Roll on Tuesday’s end-of-season trip to Luxembourg.
IRELAND: Kelleher (Brentford); Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Collins (Brentford), O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Brady (Preston North End); McAteer (Leicester City), Knight (Bristol City), Smallbone (Southampton), Manning (Southampton); Taylor (Ipswich Town); Idah (Celtic).
Subs: Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion) for Taylor (58), O’Brien (Everton) for Manning, Phillips (St Mirren) for Doherty (both 66), Ebosele (Basaksehir) for McAteer, Moran (Brighton and Hove Albion) for Smallbone (both 80), Scales (Celtic) for Brady (85)
SENEGAL: Diouf (Stade Reims); Mendy (Nice), Seck (Maccabi Haifa), Diallo (Al-Arabi), Jakobs (Galatasaray); Diarra (Strasbourg), Camara (Berkane), Diatta (Monaco); Sima (Stade Brestois), Dia (Lazio), Ndiaye (Everton).
Subs: Camara (Monaco) for Diatta, Sarr (Crystal Palace) for Sima (both 63), Sabaly (Metz) for Camarra, C Ndiaye (Red Star Belgrade) for Dia (both 77), Diouf (Slavia Prague) for Jakobs (85)
Referee: Adam Ladeback (Sweden).
