What a crazy half of friendly international football that was.
While former Chelsea man Miroslav Stoch put Slovakia 0-1 with a sweeping counter, Ireland showed a tenacity and ferocity in response that produced two penalties thanks to Shane Long being an awful handful for a defender.
Gary Breen took time out of his busy schedule of being a complete and utter legend to provide some analysis for Setanta Sports, and in his highlighting of Shane Long's incredible work to win the first penalty, we feel he did a very good job.
What a beast.
It was a vert soft penalty, so perhaps the referee saw how hard Long worked to get into the position and decided to give it, just because.
There is an argument that Long's value off the bench against tired defenders means that he's more suited to the role of impact sub, but he surely has to be starting, and one of the first names on the teamsheets in France this summer.
