None of this is new ground for Stephen Kenny and his Ireland team.
Burrowing a path out of tight and uncomfortable positions - with varying degrees of conviction - was a hallmark of the manager’s first two years in charge.
And by late March, when Troy Parrott scored a 96th minute winner after toiling against Lithuania, it looked like his luck was finally turning and better days were ahead.
But then Ireland went to Armenia last weekend and decided to stink the place out with a dismal display in admittedly trying conditions.
Knee jerk reactions always carry a health warning as they can be premature and over the top.
As alarming as it was, Ireland have not become a bad team because of one disappointing result.
It’s just, after five wins in 23 games with Kenny at the wheel, we’re still trying to figure out if they’re even a good one.
The belief remains that Kenny’s chosen ones can flourish and become a team that enjoys more good days than bad.
But for now, they still fly too close to the sun and the goodwill banked in the second half of 2021 could yet go up in smoke because of 12 days in June.
Last year, the team responded to early setbacks by finishing the second-half of the disappointing World campaign with a sense of purpose.
Kenny secured a new contract on the back of it, but wins over lowly Azerbaijan and Luxembourg were just that and meant the jury was still out.
Leaving Yerevan in the early hours of Sunday morning, bleary eyed fans pulling all-nighters could be forgiven for having that sinking groundhog day feeling.
And that’s why tonight’s response against Ukraine will be telling. Let’s see if Ireland have the bottle to make amends.
“Listen,” said Kenny last night. “We want to try and win the game. Whatever team Ukraine puts out they’ll be top class players.
“They play with a swagger. They have a high technical level. It’s a game we want to win. We’ll have a passionate crowd here that will help the players.
“We want to try and win the game and we’ll do everything (we can). We had a bit of a setback on Saturday and we want to bounce back.
“It was a long trip, but longer when you lose, for sure. That’s the nature of this game - you get your kicks in the teeth and have to dust yourself down and go again.”
Kenny refused to panic and continued: “To be fair, the players were on a good run of results - unbeaten in eight, one defeat in 12. It was one that we wanted to win.
“I don’t think it was a game we deserved to lose, we hardly conceded any chances. We had a number of chances ourselves but know we can play a lot better overall.
“When you lose to Armenia you have to accept criticism, so I wasn't surprised by that. It’s one we’ve left behind.
“We’ve just got to put it behind us and go into the Ukraine game with a strong mentality trying to get a win.”
The fact war-torn Ukraine are even playing international matches is, according to Kenny, a credit to their players and management staff.
On the pitch, they are reeling from Sunday’s World Cup playoff final defeat to Wales in Cardiff.
“This is a very unusual game,” said Kenny.
“The Ukrainian players, the coaches and the staff have been great ambassadors for their country amidst the chaos of their lives and their compatriots.
“Thousands have lost their lives. By continuing to play, they are keeping it at the forefront of the European news.”
While Ireland struggled to deal with some of Europe’s lowest-ranked sides like Luxembourg and Armenia, they put up a fight to the best in Belgium and Portugal.
And Kenny believes Ireland can expose Ukraine’s 4-3-3 and will resist calls from Brian Kerr and others to deviate from 3-4-2-1 and play three central midfielders instead.
"Ukraine is a different challenge, a very attacking 4-3-3, and they have the flexibility to play 3-4-2-1 as well,” he continued.
"They have a lot of depth and we've seen in both World Cup playoff games, particularly against Scotland, that they have a lot of quality.
“They play the same 4-3-3 system as Portugal and Luxembourg, although obviously Portugal are at a higher level than Luxembourg.
“We played that system and were quite effective so tactically there are things that we can do to counteract the extra man in midfield and we can overload in other areas.
“Portugal is a good template for the possibilities against Ukraine.”
Kenny’s bullish target of winning this Nations League group looks like a pipe dream after the Yerevan result.
And going into this game, it should be the last thing on his mind.
Walking out of the Republican Stadium in Yerevan, Chiedozie Ogbene said it was imperative that Ireland develop a win-at-all-costs mentality - and quick.
Tonight, Kenny needs to show that he can lead this team forward with purpose.
