Euro 2016 has come and gone and now Martin O'Neill's men face the task of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
With less spots for automatic qualification it's going to be a tougher task, and that's why a good start in Serbia was always going to be vital since the fixtures were confirmed.
It took less than three minutes for Ireland to get themselves off the mark for the campaign, with Jeff Hendrick poking the ball past Branislav Ivanovic on the line to give the boys in green the lead... And then it all went to shit. We should adpot a policy whereby we refuse to score until after the hour mark, because it's far too predictable at this stage. Lucky to get the equaliser in the end, but that was a very beatable Serbian team and we looked like we were suffering from a Euro 2016 hangover.
Here are the ratings:
Darren Randolph - 5
We have to give him a bit of slack due to the conditions, but Randy wasn't his usual composed self in that first half and flapped at a few crosses which cause awkward situations. That said, he did pull of one very nice save in the first half as well as a number of routine stops when Serbia pushed the play.
Seamus Coleman - 5
A ropey performance from Coleman, who was caught ball watching and left his man for Serbia's leveller.
Will always put shift in up and down the touchline but tonight was not one of his better performances. Still the best choice for captain in this squad.
John O'Shea - 5
O'Shea struggled. That's worrying considering the level of our opposition forwards, but he almost certinaly won't be first choice by the end of this campaign.
Richard Keogh - 6
The more stable performer of the two at the back, Keogh used his reading of the game to sniff out a number of Serbian attacks. Had a very good first half, standard dropped under the pressure during the second.
Stephen Ward - 6
He still gets stick from some fans who haven't noticed his improvement over the last 18 months. Has turned into a reliable left-back from an accident waiting to happen. Solid tonight.
Glenn Whelan - 5
Disappointing from Whelan, who is in this side to lead and control the tempo, he dropped far too deep and allowed Serbia onto us.
Although that may have been his instructions, which would be very worrying.
Jeff Hendrick - 6
Jeff's hair gets a 10/10 rating as it defied logic to stay in immaculate shape during that match and in those conditions.
Sadly his own performance faded as the team sank deeper and deeper after his goal. Still, should have stayed on the pitch longer than he did.
Robbie Brady - 6
Up and down from Brady who looked to be running the show early on but soon became sloppy as Ireland lost their shape and surrendered the play to Serbia.
Still our biggest threat from set-pieces.
James McClean - 5
Hard working, and solid defensively as always, but didn't offer enough of an outlet to launch a counter-attack as he was too busy going the other way.
Shane Long - 6
Ran his socks off as usual and did his best at holding up play, but was feeding off of scraps big time. In the first half he had some joy getting in behind but, couldn't make a difference in the game.
Jon Walters - 4
Who was that wearing #14 tonight? It wasn't the Jonny Walters we are used to seeing in a green jersey. Anonymous for the majority of the game before giving a way a very costly penalty. Yes it was a dive, but Walters shouldn't have been in the position to give it away.
Substitutes:
Stephen Quinn - 6
A strange sub to make when you're chasing a game, Quinn isn't one to unlock a defence, but one to keep shape and hassle the opponent. That said, he did ok.
Daryl Murphy - 8
He's off the mark. Finally. You picked a good time for it to be fair. Good man yourself.
Ciaran Clark - N/A
Thanks for coming out, Ciaran.
