THERE was a flock of seagulls, a flying winger, and then Ireland had their wings clipped.
The Boys in Green were held to a 1-1 draw by Senegal at the Aviva Stadium last night as Ismaila Sarr ruffled Irish feathers after wing Kasey McAteer had given Ireland the lead.
How it ended meant that expectations around Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team have not taken flight on a night when there was more than just McAteer flying around the Aviva.
A plague of gulls left the trawlers to swarm the Dublin 4 venue in search of matchday treats.
Television pictures only gave a snapshot of what it was like as hundreds of gulls climbed and dived above the stands.
Quite a few of the winged invaders took up spots in the spots in the Lansdowne Road rafters too to see a common Ireland result – 1-1 – but an encouraging performance.
The first half in particular was a cause for optimism though Senegal will feel they were worth at least a draw having twice hit the woodwork before Sarr’s equaliser.
And that the Tottenham ace was introduced proved how the Lions of Teranga were troubled after boss Papa Bouna Thiaw had started with a weakened side ahead of Tuesday’s trip to England.
While the strength of the opposition has to be factored in, so does how Ireland also left out many key men with six changes from last March’s win over Bulgaria.
Josh Cullen, Mikey Johnston, and Finn Azaz were all absent as Heimir Hallgrímsson gave them the summer off while Jake O’Brien, Evan Ferguson, and Troy Parrott were subs.
That Ireland could change six and not look any weaker for it will have delighted Hallgrímsson as those given chances put their hand up for regular starts.
And none more so than McAteer who, like his namesake Jason, could prove a key man in a World Cup qualification campaign.
It was not just his well-taken goal but overall performance as he helped Ireland get on the front foot early on.
His crossing was not always accurate. But the ease at which he continually beat his man Ismail Jakobs meant quantity made up for the occasional lack of quality.
Even before he scored, his confidence was high and he was Ireland’s go-to man in attack as Nathan Collins and Dara O’Shea kept finding him with long raking passes.
The best early chance fell to Jack Taylor on 13 minutes but he needed a few extra inches to get his head onto a McAteer cross.
And the winger was again central to Ireland’s next half-chance on 18 minutes.
Again, it started at the back as O’Shea’s lovely pass from inside his own half picked out McAteer on the right who saw his cross cut out.
But it fell invitingly for Will Smallbone following in and he took a touch but could only drag his shot wide from the edge of the area.
The goal was coming and arrived on 21 minutes. And no one deserved it more than McAteer.
It came off a set-piece as Will Smallbone swung over a deep ball from the left that seemed to be targeted at the late arriving O’Shea until Matt Doherty headed it back.
And the pair were still discussing the miscommunication as McAteer scored off well worked second phase of possession.
Doherty’s knockdown was to Robbie Brady on the edge of the area who sorted out his feet quickly to send in a first-time cross that was flicked on by Collins to McAteer.
He was all alone – and onside – on the six-yard box line as his first powerful header was brilliantly clawed away under his crossbar by Yehvann Diouf.
But McAteer and Ireland then got the luck their opening to the game deserved as the ball fell to the Leicester City winger again who gladly fired home the rebound.
He still had a quick look to make sure there was no offside flag and Ireland were up and running, and deservedly so.
While Senegal were second best, they still had their moments.
It may not have been a full-strength team but it was still formidable with Everton star Iliman Ndiaye as well as players playing in France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and Israel.
And a lone ‘Carta Dearg Don Iosrael’ sign held up on the South Stand early on was a reminder of where so many in Ireland stand on that.
Early on, they had a decent chance when O’Shea put out a foot to cut out Krepin Diatta’s low corner and was relieved to see it go wide of Caoimhín Kelleher’s goal.
And there were other small scares for Ireland with Habig Diarra causing problems while Abdallah Sima always looked dangerous when given space on the right.
Yet Ireland were full value for their half-time lead and came close to doubling their advantage early in the second half.
Jason Knight did the donkey work winning possession and freeing Smallbone who saw his left-foot shot palmed away by Diouf with Ryan Manning’s rebound deflected wide.
But if anyone in the crowd was feeling too confident got a reminder of how precarious Ireland’s control was when Kelleher tipped a Diatta header onto the crossbar.
There was another scare on 69 minutes when substitute Ismaila Sarr deflected a Diarra shot against the post as both he and Kelleher scrambled across to deal with it.
Both sides were also making changes and Ireland were finally undone just a minute after making further substitutions in the 82th minute.
Iliman Ndiaye found space to skip by Andrew Moran who had just come and whip in a cross that O’Shea could only deflect into the path of Cherif Ndiaye.
His powerful shot was saved by Kelleher but Sarr was following up like all good strikers too to finish it.
Senegal could have won it when substitute Cheikh Sabaly was not far off with a diving header.
And there was also a fracas involving both teams after Killian Phillips had given away a free kick for an unlucky hand ball and Adam Idah pushed a Senegal player.
But Ireland ensured the draw by showing that late fight, but it was a result that means expectations will not take flight – yet.
Ireland 1 (McAteer 21)
Senegal 1 (Sarr 82)
