It was the classic Republic of Ireland performance, full of fight-to-the-end endeavour, rigid discipline and downright stubbornness, and culminating ultimately in a place in Euro 2016 and wonderful scenes at the final whistle when they could finally relax and reflect on one of the great nights of their modern era.
Martin O’Neill’s team gave everything. They ran after every ball, never shirked a tackle and when they needed a centre-forward to show composure and experience in front of goal Jon Walters passed the test with distinction. His first was a penalty midway through the opening half but it was his volley, after 70 minutes, when the tension made way for a wave of euphoria.
That was when the crowd knew that, barring a calamity, O’Neill’s men would be heading to France next summer and, considering the recent history of this team, they probably do not care a jot that there was an element of controversy attached to the win. Yes, the handball decision against Ervin Zukanovic for Ireland’s penalty was probably a mistake, but who will begrudge Ireland a dash of luck almost six years to the day since Thierry Henry’s infamous handball to set up William Gallas prevented Giovanni Trapattoni’s side reaching the World Cup?
This is a team featuring three players from Championship clubs, a goalkeeper from West Ham’s reserves and a back-up from Millwall, ninth in League One. The only constant theme has been their spirit of togetherness and this was a night when all those qualities were evident. They were quick to the ball, strong in the tackle and their workload was prodigious. They were also seriously hyped up judging by Robbie Keane’s angry pre-match confrontation with one of the Bosnia coaches about where exactly the two sides should be warming up.