Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card should not dominate the Irish perspective of an unexpected evening of joy in Dublin
Dara O’Shea (left) and Caoimhín Kelleher of Ireland celebrate the win at the Aviva Stadium. Photo: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
To keep the dream alive, Ireland enjoyed an evening that challenged the boundaries of reality. Beating Portugal to give every home player – apart from Lille survivor Séamus Coleman – the best moment of their international careers is one thing.
But to do so with a degree of comfort on the scoreboard that allowed a few traffic-averse natives to leave early brought an epic Ballsbridge evening into surreal territory.