Captain’s fantastic late strike reflects transformed last quarter performance

John O’Shea hasn’t scored many goals but he’s scored some big ones. He scored in a Champions League semi-final, he chipped Manuel Almunia at Highbury in the “I’ll see you out there” match and one year he all but sealed the title for Manchester United with a late winner at the Kop end.

Given his record, we might have known that he would wait until time was right – like captaining his country in the last minute of a match in which he was winning his 100th cap, away to the world champions – to score the goal Irish football will always remember him for.

It was O’Shea’s 100th cap, despite Fifa’s objection that one of the previous 99, against Hungary in Budapest in June 2012, was invalid owing to an administrative error. I was in Budapest that night and I can vouch that the match took place.

At first, last night looked like it might follow the painful template of that Euro 2012 match against Spain: promising first 30 seconds, followed by complete capitulation. The barrage of the first20 minutes was like a horror movie. There were no normal scenes – the newlyweds didn’t even get to move in to their new house before the creepy dolls’ heads started twisting around and the blood came pouring down the walls.

Psychological horrors

But you gradually realised this was one of those psychological horrors where the monsters turn out to be in your own head. Most of the early danger to Ireland came from their own nervousness. There were desperate hacks clear, nervous back passes, long balls down the line towards Jon Walters and David Forde's ill-fated attempt to dribble past an opponent 35 yards from his goal.

Germany’s domination was so total they became casual and laid back. There was nothing fiery or furious about their attacking play; it was neat and tidy but hardly frightening. Soon, it seemed their calmness and composure had proved contagious. Ireland had realised that the biggest thing they had to fear was fear itself.

James McClean, Stephen Quinn and Aiden McGeady were working hard, but their efforts were undermined by the flaws in Ireland's attacking plan. Robbie Keane started because you cannot leave a player with his record out of a team like ours. He has to play his way out of the team. Last night, he may have accomplished that, touching the ball five times in the first half, never once near the German penalty area.

But despite the apparent gulf in class Ireland clung on, and not in the same way they had in Moscow three years ago. That was a rickety all-round performance salvaged by brilliant individual efforts by Richard Dunne and Shay Given. Last night, Germany were restricted to shots from distance and the kind of efforts which would have counted as mistakes had Forde let them in.

By 70 minutes, you had started to remember the reasons why Ireland had only lost lost two competitive games away from home in the last seven years. You started to think about the embarrassing defeat Germany had suffered in Poland four days previously. You remembered this team included only six of the 14 men who had beaten Argentina in the World Cup final three months previously.

One of those six was Toni Kroos, and on 71 minutes he received the ball 35 yards out.

There is no better striker of a ball in Europe than Kroos. When Germany beat Ireland 6-1 at the Aviva in 2012, Kroos nailed two goals from range, one with each foot. When he gets the ball 35 yards out, the thing to do is close him down.

Tiredness

That seemed to be Stephen Quinn’s idea, but whether because of tiredness or indecision, he backed off, giving Kroos room to move forward and crack in a shot from 25 yards for what everybody assumed would be the winning goal.

But in that last 15 minutes, Ireland had a better team on the field. Hendrick, on for Whelan, was passing the ball forward. Gibson, on for Keane, had brought authority and presence. Hoolahan, on for Quinn, was getting on the ball in good positions between the lines, and inexplicably fluffing his opportunities. Even though Hoolahan made several uncharacteristic mistakes, it’s worth noting he touched the ball as many times in his quarter- hour on the pitch as Robbie Keane did in 63 minutes.

Suddenly Germany who were panicking, hitting needless long balls and giving it away. Ireland's chance looked to have gone when Durm blocked Hoolahan's late close- range shot. But we had reckoned without the diligence of German ball-boys and the skill of Jeff Hendrick.

The ball-boy returned it quickly, McGeady made a yard and Hoolahan hit it towards the far post. It looked like it had gone too far, but Hendrick hooked it brilliantly back into the centre, and O’Shea’s determination to get there ahead of Hummels gave Irish football its sweetest moment since that other late equaliser against Germany 12 years ago.