Ireland battled to a 1-0 victory over a well-organised Swiss outfit at the Aviva Stadium this evening, with a Ciarán Clarke header separating the sides in a disjointed game.
It was a typical friendly and, in many ways, typical Ireland. It took a set-piece for the Boys In Green to unlock the high-pressing Swiss, but Martin O'Neill can be pleased his side didn't concede in an albeit tepid affair in Dublin.
Here's how we rated the Ireland players:
Darren Randolph 6.5
Another clean sheet for the man West Ham fans have christened Darren 'Clean Sheet' Randolph. Solid distribution, too, on an otherwise quiet evening.
Séamus Coleman 6.5
A solid if unspectacular outing for Coleman. Defended well when required but one can only hope we see him marauding down the wing that bit more come France. Who are we fooling, mind?
Shane Duffy 7.5
A seriously impressive performance in just his second senior appearance for Ireland. Well-timed challenges stopped numerous Swiss breaks, with just one positional error of note almost resulting in a Swiss chance before being snuffed out by his centre back partner. Deft assist for Clark's goal, and can't argue with his man of the match award.
Ciaran Clarke 7.5
Without doubt his finest appearance in green. Clark showed the kind of defensive instinct that his club have been sorely lacking all season, tidying up Duffy's one mistake on the 55th minute with a superb intervention. Capped his performance with the winning goal.
Robbie Brady 6.5
The big fear with Brady is that his offensive threat is offset by defensive errors, but the former Manchester United winger looked relatively comfortable tonight after a nervy opening 20 minutes. Worth remembering he's still just 24, and will continue to improve positionally. Nice delivery for Ireland goal.
Alan Judge 6
As Judge said after the game, today was more about enjoying his first cap. It was a quiet evening for the Brentford man, and in truth Ireland's approach play wasn't overly conducive to him overly impressing on his first start. Will take him a few caps to get settled, as it does most internationals.
David Meyler 7
Another solid international display for the Cork man, who made a couple of tasty challenges in midfield. His ability to read the game defensively has improved significantly since his Ireland debut in 2012. Made some fine interceptions and distributed the ball well.
Stephen Quinn 6
Caught in possession on a couple of occasions, with one instance in particular leading to a Swiss chance. Not his finest outing, but Switzerland pressed Ireland's midfield effectively, limiting the time Quinn had on the ball.
Aiden McGeady 6
Probably safe to say the penny isn't going to drop at this juncture.
Kevin Doyle 5
Suffered one of the worst gashes you'll ever see on a football field and was subsequently forced to come off. Will undergo minor surgery later tonight. Shame to see Doyle felled in such circumstances, as some of his early touches had rolled back the years somewhat. Hopefully not the last we see of the Wexford man in an Ireland jersey - and one presumes it won't be.
Shane Long 6.5
All the usual Long buzzwords applied once more. Energetic, quick-off-the-mark, a nuisance. Chased down everything and got 83 minutes under his belt, with which he can be quite pleased. Rattled the bar with a header in the first half.
Subs:
James McCarthy 5.5
Game had descended to walking pace by the time McCarthy was introduced. Had little influence on proceedings.
James McClean 6
Injected a bit of pace back into the game in the final five minutes.
Wes Hoolahan 6
Only had 11 minutes to pull a Lionel Wessi. Showed some typically nice touches.
Daryl Murphy 5.5
Won a couple of aerial duels but contributed little else. Difficult to see how there can be a role for him against high quality opposition, but there will be.
Eunan O'Kane 6
Snatched at a late chance on his debut but showed some promise in a more advanced position than we're used to seeing him deployed at Bournemouth. Surely needs to be seen again against Slovakia.
Jonny Hayes 6.5
Extremely composed for a debutant and made some telling defensive contributions. Can head back to Aberdeen a very happy camper.
