For the fans that have attended internationals at Lansdowne Road since the late 1980s, it was nights like Thursday that got them hooked on the Republic of Ireland.
Beating Portugal 2-0 while drawing a petulant reaction from Cristiano Ronaldo, before and after his red card, created an unforgettable moment in the history of Irish sport.
The coming generation of Ireland supporters needed to see a big nation like Portugal fall to finally understand why we suffer through the tough times.
This result was 10 years in the making. I was behind the goal when Shane Long scored the winner against Germany in 2015.
The players wanted it as much as the public craved it. That always makes for a potent mix.
Now the team has to back up the performance against Hungary in Budapest.
Nothing else will do.
If the Portugal result is to have a lasting impact, if it is to be filed alongside Ireland 0 Belgium 0 in 1987 or Ireland 1 Holland 0 in 2001, qualification for the World Cup has to follow.
Otherwise, it’s just a very special one off.
The players cannot allow another dip in form, not after Thursday, not after beating Portugal. For their own careers in the game, from Caoimhín Kelleher to Troy Parrott, they need to repeat the process.
That’s the worry. Two months ago, Ireland’s energy reserves were drained salvaging a point at home to Hungary after being 2-0 down after 15 minutes. They followed that up in Yerevan with one of the worst performances I have ever seen from an Irish side.
Beating Portugal only truly counts as redemption for losing to Armenia if the players – to a man – show up at the Puskás Arena.
Ireland have had enough good luck during this campaign. Three red cards for the opposing teams visiting Dublin, including the Armenian and Portuguese captains, has a lot to do with gathering seven points from five matches.
Chiedozie Ogbene and Séamus Coleman led the way against Portugal. Ogbene is only back from a ruptured Achilles, Séamus is 37, so others need to step up and replicate their levels of commitment.
There is a template for beating Portugal when Ronaldo starts as there is no dynamic runner in behind. The three Irish centre halves looked comfortable pushing Portugal from side to side. The visitors were left waiting to score a goal off an individual mistake.
Now comes the test all players crave; the chance to prove they can perform with tired limbs and under enormous pressure from a Hungarian crowd.
Budapest could be another Bursa. It was the 0-0 away to Turkey in 1999, after drawing the home leg of the playoff 1-1, when saw us fall agonisingly short of qualifying for Euro 2000, before all hell broke loose at full-time as a local punched Tony Cascarino.
Hungary are no different to Turkey in terms of a football nation that can create the most intimidating atmosphere imaginable. The Irish team in ’99 included Roy Keane, a young Robbie Keane, Niall Quinn, Steve Carr and Denis Irwin, so we expected to qualify for major tournaments.
That’s the difference between then and now – nobody saw Thursday’s performance coming. Maybe the players knew. Having appeared so nervous in September, Nathan Collins didn’t seem overawed by the occasion.
I’ll admit, after 15 minutes, I was clinging to the out ball Ogbene was offering an Irish defence that was immediately pinned back by Portugal.
Enormous credit goes to Kelleher, Collins and Dara O’Shea for their inspirational shifts, but the best Ireland could have hoped to achieve in an ultra-defensive shape was to go one better than the game in Lisbon by not conceding a late goal.
Ogbene changed the entire narrative of this campaign by offering a willing and able body to put Portugal under pressure in transition from balls over the top.
Ogbene was outstanding, playing with pace and intent which brought Finn Azaz and Parrott into the game.
Troy rightly gets the credit for his goals, especially the second when he ran the channel to win a long ball from O’Shea before a pure finish.
Azaz’s tackle on Rúben Diaz in the first half, when Ireland led 1-0, earned Portugal a free-kick and Azaz a yellow card but the occasion demanded a meaty challenge around the patch of grass where Roy felled Marc Overmars in 2001.
Again, for this win to live alongside famous victories over Germany and Holland, Ireland have to go one better than ‘99 in Turkey with a win in Hungary.
It’s a tall order. Tired bodies. Emotionally spent. International football is always this way. Can you go again? The Hungarians will show up. Dominik Szoboszlai is determined to drive his generation to the World Cup next summer.
I imagine Heimir Hallgrímsson’s chances of getting a contract extension come down to what happens next. Portugal in Dublin cancels out Armenia in Yerevan. Fine. Reaching a playoff or at the very least pushing a decent Hungary side to the limit could convince the FAI that the Hallgrímsson, John O’Shea and Paddy McCarthy coaching ticket deserve an extension up to Euro 2028.
