International friendly: Republic of Ireland 1 New Zealand 1
IN the 67th minute, James McClean's number was held up. The kid from Creggan Heights who lived every kid's dream for over 11 years had his last dance with Ireland in Dublin last night.
As he made his way off the field, warm applause rang out from the 26, 517 supporters, many of whom probably made the pilgrimage to the Aviva Stadium on a cool November night, in what was a nothing game, to say goodbye to one of their favourite sons.
From those youthful days of Euro 2012 through to the Euro 2016 finals in France, not to mention his heroics in Vienna and Cardiff where he dared Ireland to dream, to the ups and downs of the current regime, the 34-year-old left his indelible mark on the hearts and minds of everyone associated with the national team.
In a blink of an eye it's all over now.
On 103 occasions, McClean left everything of himself on the field of play. He was the stubborn patriot every Irish fan supported and loved.
As he hugged his team-mates on his way off the field, it really felt like the end of an era. And it is probably the end of the road too for manager Stephen Kenny.
No-one will remember much about last night's end-of-season friendly tie.
All you needed to know was that it finished 1-1. Ireland were the better side in the first half; New Zealand better in the second.
Adam Idah bagged the opener on 29 minutes and Matt Garbett equalised for the visitors just before hour mark.
In the early stages of last night’s clash, Celtic winger Mikey Johnston was on fire for the home side.
The Glaswegian only declared for Ireland in March of this year – but he's the kind of player Stephen Kenny’s Ireland team was crying out for from the get-go of his tenure.
Undoubtedly, there have been many flaws in Kenny’s teams across the 40 games he’s been in charge.
A lack of defensive continuity, plenty of perspiration but very little inspiration in the middle of the field and an attack that occasionally flickered without ever catching fire.
Johnston and Evan Ferguson – the latter named among the substitutes last night – both arrived on the international scene too late to steer Ireland in a different, more hopeful direction.
In his pre-match press conference on Monday, Kenny seemed to lament the fact that Johnston and Chiedozie Ogbene weren’t in enough Ireland squads together so that he could play his preferred 4-3-3 formation.
While Johnston was running rings around the statuesque New Zealand defenders on the left side, Mark Sykes offered a different but equally effective threat on the right side.
While always smart and daring in possession, it was the Belfast man’s harassment of defender Nando Pijnaker, currently of Sligo, that led to Ireland’s one and only goal.
Sykes managed to slip the ball to Idah and with all the time in the world, the Norwich City striker calmly side-footed the ball past visiting ‘keeper Max Croccombe from 18 yards to make it back-to-back goals at the Aviva Stadium, having converted a penalty against Holland last month.
Played in front of a sparse home crowd, Sarpreet Singh offered a counter-attacking threat for the visitors, forcing Caoimhin Kelleher into making a right-handed save from distance and the same player later hit the side netting when well placed.
The Kiwis, who fielded six of the side that lost a 2022 World Cup play-off to Costa Rica, were a limited enough opponent but they still carved out a few chances with Garbett fluffing his lines four minutes after the restart - a chance that came about when Johnston appeared to be fouled earlier in the play.
At the other end, Jayson Molumby was unlucky with an effort from distance - but the home side fell asleep just before the hour mark to allow Garbett to equalise with a well-placed effort from the edge of Ireland's box.
The visitors were the better side for most of the second period with Singh being denied by substitute 'keeper Mark Travers and he was on hand again to prevent Max Mata scoring the winner.
The Irish team were probably distracted by McClean's emotional exit midway through the second half as New Zealand created a few more chances.
Sykes did go close for the Irish and substitute Evan Ferguson saw his curling effort tipped away in the 86th minute, but nobody was truly bothered about the outcome.
All we know is that no-one will forget James McClean in a hurry.
His thundering challenges, his never-say-die spirit, his one million crosses and 11 goals.
As Martin O'Neill said earlier this week, James McClean really did understand the pulse of the Irish people.
