There was pure heartbreak for the Girls In Green as Ireland were beaten by the tighest of margins by Wales and ultimately missed out on Euro 2025.
It was all to play for going into the clash in Dublin's Aviva Stadium after Ireland left Cardiff with a draw in the first-leg last week.
It was a cagey opening half in which Ireland went closest through Denise O'Sullivan, her brilliant effort rattling the woodwork from distance.
Captain Katie McCabe was perhaps lucky not to have been dismissed prior to the interval, having picked up a yellow card for dissent before lashing out with a frustrated tackle in the 36 minute of play.
An apologetic McCabe did not appear to to make contact and remained on the pitch after a half in which Ireland looked most likely.
However things quickly swung after the restart, a blatant handball from Ireland's Anna Patten resulting in a penalty for the visitors and Hannah Cain finished it calmly.
49 mins: Ireland 0-1 Wales
Big moment early in the second half as VAR spots a handball by Anna Patten and Hannah Cain coolly slots home the penalty to give the visitors the lead
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Ireland probed for an equaliser but were caught on the back-foot and Wales doubled their lead through Carrie Jones before Ireland pulled one back through Patten.
More chances came for Eileen Gleeson's side, who went inches away from an equaliser in a late rally that featured Megan Campbell's signature long throw-ins into the penalty area.
Wales, however, held firm as the tactic failed to prove fruitful in the latter stages of the fixture.
Ruesha Littlejohn points at grassroots woes after Ireland lose to Wales
Ireland veteran Ruesha Littlejohn spoke to RTÉ's Tony O'Donoghue after the win, who questioned whether it was acceptable that Ireland resort to such direct tactics when other teams play the ball on the ground.
Littlejohn spoke about the state of affairs at grassroots level in the country, stating that things must improve for players at grassroots before they reach senior level.
I think in Irish football we really need to go into grassroots here," she said.
"We need to change our game and change our style. You look at the best teams... they are all so comfortable on the football. They want to play and that is everyone on the team.
"That is the journey we are on now. I think it is going to start from the young ones coming through and everyone is going to be better on the football.
"Yes, we know we can be hard, resilient and put our bodies on the line. We have got Megan's throw and big girls who can win headers but we need to do more if we want to consistently go to these tournaments."
Stephanie Zambra (formerly Roche) was on punditry duty for RTÉ where she echosed Littlejohn's sentiments.
'We have some good young players coming through but we need to look at our league as well.
"All of our young players want to go away to play, they all want to get professional contracts.
"We need to work on our league and make Ireland a place where they can develop.
"For me there needs to be more focus put on the grassroots football in Ireland and on our own league as well."
There is bound to be a lengthy post-mortem with Ireland having had the high of reaching a maiden World Cup before the heartbreak of Tuesday night.
