A BAD result and yet a good night for Irish football.
The latest cloud to hang over Mick McCarthy's grey head at least has a silver lining. His young Irish side dropped more World Cup points, this time to Romania in Bucharest, last night, but on an evening marked by passion and purpose they learned many lessons.
With such promise in evidence a one goal defeat didn't seem quite so burdensome.
"We got nothing," said Mick McCarthy afterwards, "but it was the response I was looking for. We played very well and I'm very proud."
Fortune doesn't always favour the brave. On a night when the reward didn't match the effort Ireland learned that courage isn't perhaps as valuable a commodity when unaccompanied by luck.
They learned, too, that the poetry of soccer history sometimes allows for rhyming revenge. Romania, evicted from the World Cup in 1990 by Packie Bonner's penalty save, survived last night when their own net minder, Bogdan Stelea, denied Ireland an equalising goal from Roy Keane's second half penalty kick.
Thus Ireland lost their second World Cup game in succession and have now dropped eight points out of the last nine available.
But defeat on this occasion was freighted with as much honour as could have been hoped for. Mick McCarthy, looking to rediscover the passion which was Ireland's trademark in happier days, had gambled boldly. He made six changes from the team which lost to Macedonia last month, picking a beguilingly youthful side.
The dizzy promise of the opening half hour evaporated, however, when young Irish defender Ian Harte headed the ball down softly into the path of the inrushing Adrian Ilie.
Yet the gallant nature of Ireland's subsequent performance restored the thousand or so Irish fans to good spirits.
"I'll look back on tonight with some satisfaction," said Mick McCarthy afterwards. With his young players having submitted such an accomplished performance, the manager's smile suggested the second half of this 10 game World Cup campaign might be more positive.
Ireland must finish second to advance to a playoff against another similarly placed team for the right to travel to France next year. Their next game is at home to Liechtenstein in three weeks' time.