Some sharp reappraisals were being made at Tolka Park last evening after Northern Ireland, the outsiders in this "B" international, had delighted their supporters by scoring the only goal of the game.
Fittingly, it was George O'Boyle, one of the senior players in the Northern team, who imparted a salutary lesson in professionalism to younger fellow practitioners in a game in which limbs were nearly always working faster than minds.
After the fury of a hectic start by the Republic had spent itself, and Northern Ireland could at last countenance something other than deep defence, the St Johnstone forward scored in their first real attack in the 43rd minute.
It was a product primarily of persistence. It showed first when his strong challenge forced Nick Colgan to drop Keith Rowland's lob; then, when Stephen Robinson knocked the ball forward, O'Boyle outjumped Rory Delap to deposit the ball in an empty net.
By no stretch of the imagination, could it be described as a thing of beauty. But on an evening when there just wasn't enough maturity in the home team, it sufficed, against all the odds, to win the game.
We weren't to know it then, but that was to be the sum total of the game's enterprise and, given the setting, that was vastly disappointing.
A capacity 9,000 went through the turnstiles, leaving an estimated 1,000 more locked outside after the kick-off had been put back 15 minutes to avoid congestion. The Garda had ordered that the gates be closed 15 minutes before the scheduled start because the ground was already full.
The big attraction, almost certainly, was the prospect of seeing Damien Duff and Robbie Keane spearheading the search for goals. Sadly, none was forthcoming from the highly-rated duo.
Thus, one of the least satisfactory aspects of the evening was that some ticket holders, including Northern fans, failed to get in. The FAI said that they regretted this, but added that it was due to congestion caused by latecomers.
Duff started in a manner which suggested that he was in a different class to the rest. But when the big breakthrough failed to happen, his influence gradually waned, and for much of the second half he was ineffective.
Keane looked more potent on the night but wasted a couple of good chances, not least in the 64th minute when Duff's cross to the far post invited the textbook finish. It characterised the Republic's general lack of thrift, and their failure to extract anything from a competitive Northern team in which Danny Sonner and Gerard McMahon recovered from an early buffeting to give them a bridgehead in midfield in the second half.
The Republic's defence came under only intermittent pressure, but Alan Maybury, playing out of position at left back, was excellent. Graham Kavanagh drifted after a good start, and while Gareth Farrelly competed well, it wasn't enough to forge the decisive openings.
In one aspect at least, the Republic's performance was valid. McCarthy had promised an early assault in the attempt to unnerve the visiting defence, and in that he was as good as his word.
Keane, bursting on to a pass from Devine, was too high with his finishing effort, and then Philip Hardy discovered to his cost that Alan Fettis was perfectly placed to hold his firm, 30-yard drive.
Northern Ireland, kept afloat in those torrid early minutes by the forthright defence of Darren Patterson and Keith Rowland, hadn't managed an attack of any significance by the end of the third quarter, and yet they managed to continue trading at parity without undue alarm.
They were undeniably fortunate to escape in the 26th minute when Kavanagh's measured pass gave Keane a clear run at goal. But with time to spare, he snatched at the ball and the shot never threatened the target.
In a sense, it said it all about the quality of the Irish performance. In their anxiety to impress, they were too often guilty of impetuosity. And the grim wages were reaped when O'Boyle, in a moment of raw opportunism, swept Northern Ireland into the lead.
Even at that stage, there were ominous signs of a crisis in the making and thus it proved. Stripped of their earlier verve, the home attack looked considerably less menacing after the interval. And yet, they should have equalised when Keane was guilty of that far-post miss in the 64th minute.
Republic Of Ireland: N Colgan (Chelsea); R Delap (Derby Co), R Dunne (Everton), D Worrell (Blackburn), A Maybury (Leeds Utd); M Kinsella (Charlton), G Kavanagh (Stoke), G Farrelly (Everton); S Devine (Barnet), R Keane (Wolves), D Duff (Blackburn). Substitutes: W Boland (Coventry) for Kinsella (45 mins), B Murphy (Wimbledon) for Colgan (70 mins), N Fenn (Leyton Orient) for Devine (70 mins), S Finnan (Notts Co) for Kavanagh (80 mins), A Lynch (UCD) for Dunne (87 mins), G Cronin (Cork City) for Worrell (87 mins).
Northern Ireland: A Fettis (Blackburn); A Hughes (Newcastle), D Patterson (Luton), C Murdoch (Preston), K Rowland (QPR); J McCarthy (Birmingham), D Lennon (Raith), D Sonner (Ipswich), G McMahon (Stoke); G O'Boyle (St Johnstone), S Robinson (Bournemouth). Substitutes: Jeff Whitley (Man City) for Lennon (61 mins), M Graham (QPR) for McMahon (81 mins).
Referee: G Richards (Wales).
