At a time when the strains of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of my Fathers) echoing across the Irish Sea from Cardiff have stoked envy among Republic of Ireland fans who have had comparatively little to be enthused about in recent years, the pin-prick sign of what looks suspiciously like a light at the end of a long and dark tunnel has been spotted.
Last Saturday Ireland came from behind twice to hold Belgium to a draw in a packed Aviva Stadium and for the first time since the pre-Covid era fans left the south Dublin ground surfing a wave of what looked like cautious optimism. Of course there are caveats; while much was made of Ireland’s draw against the top-ranked team in the world, it behoves us to point out it was only a friendly and the visitors fielded an experimental side without most of their box-office names.
