Luxembourg 0
Republic of Ireland 0
Youghal's Jake O’Brien started and Adam Idah featured off the bench for the Republic of Ireland in their 0-0 draw with Luxembourg in an international friendly at the Stade de Luxembourg on Tuesday evening.
It was an uneventful evening, all things considered, for two teams looking ahead at September’s World Cup qualifiers.
That was Heimir Hallgrímsson’s focus, and the coach made five changes to the group that drew 1-1 with Senegal last Friday.
The same 3-4-1-2 formation kept from that night out at the Aviva Stadium, with O’Brien starting in defence after coming off the bench in Dublin.
There was no place for Caoimhín Kelleher, with Max O’Leary starting his first ever senior game.
Idah also dropped to the bench, with Troy Parrott taking his place in a forward line that included Evan Ferguson.
Luxembourg vs Republic of Ireland: Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson
The game did not open up until Danel Sinani tried his luck from distance in the 28th minute and O’Leary pushed the ball out for a corner that came to nothing.
Gerson Rodrigues, who scored the winner against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in March 2021, was the next player to get into the box and he saw a low inviting pass miss everyone inside the area.
The Boys in Green only threatened once, from a free-kick, and Collins headed that off the woodwork in the 42nd minute.
It was 0-0 at the break and the game restarted with McAteer firing wide and Ireland scrambling away shots from Sinani and Rodrigues. That was followed by a Luxembourg corner which Laurent Jans managed to get to, and his effort was blocked by Jason Knight.
Ryan Manning responded with a cross to McAteer, and this was broken down to Parrott for a back-heeled attempt that did not come off in the 52nd minute.
Hallgrímsson slowly tinkered with his team as the second half wore on, with changes including Jack Taylor taking the place of Will Smallbone and Idah swapping with Evan Ferguson late-on.
The Celtic star announced his arrival with an overhead kick in the 84th minute on the penalty spot, and he kicked the ball harmlessly out of touch. That was the final moment of flare on a night that never real captured the imagination of the masses or those in the Stade de Luxembourg.
Luxembourg: Tiago Pereira Cardoso; Eldin Džogović, Laurent Jans, Seid Korać, Dirk Carlson, Florian Bohnert, Tomás Moreira, Leandro Barreiro, Danel Sinani; Gerson Rodrigues, Aiman Dardari.
Subs: Vincent Thrill for Jans (62); Michael Pinto for Bohnert (62), Alessio Curci for Dardari (76), Eric Veiga for Rodrigues (82), Lars Gerson for Carlson (89), Enzo De Pina Duarte for Moreira (89).
Republic of Ireland: Max O'Leary, Jake O'Brien, Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea, Robbie Brady; Kasey McAteer, Jason Knight, Killian Phillips, Will Smallbone; Evan Ferguson, Troy Parrott.
Subs: Ryan Manning for Brady (21); Jack Taylor for Smallbone (57), Festy Ebosele for Philips (57), Adam Idah for Ferguson (76), Matt Doherty for McAteer (76), John Fitzpatrick for Knight (90).
Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria)