Netherlands 1-0 Ireland
Expectations were low heading into Ireland fixture against the Netherlands this evening, and while the scoreline is hardly a disastrous one, it does not tell the full story of the game.
The performance was an incredibly grim one from Stephen Kenny's side, who failed to impact the game in any way. They created almost nothing in attack and would have lost by much more were it not for some excellent saves from Gavin Bazunu.
In the end, this game brings to an end what was a disastrous Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Here's how we rated the performances on the night.
Ireland player ratings vs the Netherlands
Gavin Bazunu - 8
There was not much Bazunu could have done about the opening goal, although he may have been a tad disappointed to be beaten so easily at his near post. He was only asked to make one other save in the first half despite the Dutch's dominance.
The Southampton made a number of excellent saves in the second half, with the scoreline likely to have been much worse were it not for his efforts.
Ireland's best payer by a country mile.
Dara O'Shea - 6
O'Shea was the most solid member of the Ireland defence in the first half, also playing some nice balls out from the back at times.
That continued in the second half, where the Dubliner stood up fairly well to the challenge from the Netherlands in comparison to many of his teammates.
Nathan Collins - 5
Collins made an absolute mess of things in the buildup to the Dutch opener, failing to deal with a routine ball and allowing Wout Weghorst to get in behind.
The Brentford man was uncharacteristically sloppy on the ball throughout the game, giving possession away in dangerous areas on a number of occasions.
Liam Scales - 5
Quite a few Dutch attacks came down the left side populated by Scales, most notably when he was caught well up the pitch for their opening goal.
It was a tough night at the office for the Wicklow man.
Matt Doherty - 4
Doherty played incredibly high on the right flank out of possession, pressing very well in the opening stages of the game. However, his influence would wain to a remarkable degree from that point onwards.
Outside of the first ten minutes or so, it was a poor performance. Doherty struggled on the ball, was caught in behind on multiple occasions, and was well short of what we have come to expect from him in an Ireland shirt.
Ryan Manning - 5
Manning played a part in the opening Dutch goal, being part of the mixup that allowed Weghorst to get through on goal. His deliveries from out wide let him down on quite a few occasions in the first half, both from set-pieces and in open play.
Defensively, he struggled against Dumfries down that left wing.
Josh Cullen - 5
Cullen did his best to get Ireland playing through the lines in the first half, although he did struggle with the defensive side of the game as the Dutch broke through the middle on a number of occasions.
The home team continued to streak through the middle unchallenged far too often in the second half.
Alan Browne - 4
Had a good opportunity to open scoring inside the first five minutes, although his effort was straight at the Dutch goalkeeper. Browne made some questionable decisions on the ball at times, slowing down the play when Ireland looked to launching promising attacks.
His lack of urgency on the ball throughout game was odd to see.
Jason Knight - 5
Jason Knight struggled to get involved in the game in any significant way in the first half, not really getting on the ball when Ireland attempted to play through the middle third.
He covered a huge amount of ground but did not make much of an impact in either half of the pitch.
Callum Robinson - 4
Robison pressed well in the final third, although his composure on the ball did let him down on a few occasions early on.
He struggled to make any sort of real impact on the game before being substituted at halftime.
Evan Ferguson - 6
Ferguson received absolutely no service in the opening 45 minutes, growing visibly frustrated as the half went on.
He did press well at times, turning over possession on a few occasions. However, this was usually quickly followed by one of his teammates giving away possession. Substituted on the hour mark.
Substitutes
Adam Idah - 5
Coming on to start the second half, Idah made some decent runs in behind the opposition defence. However, he was caught offside too often.
Jamie McGrath - 6
Jamie McGrath worked very hard on both sides of the ball after coming on.
Jayson Molumby - 6
Molumby played some nice passes after his introduction and got Ireland moving forward into the final third.
Mikey Johnston - 6
Johnston brought a bit of life to proceedings with his dribbling ability.
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