At last Stephen Kenny’s luck turned. Another dispiriting defeat loomed for the Republic of Ireland– along with the definitive end of their remote World Cup qualification hopes – until a freakish late own goal by Nikola Milenkovic. The defender could do nothing about it, the ball having been blasted against him by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who had put Serbia into the lead in the first half.
Debate swirled before the game about what the repercussions of another defeat might be for Kenny. The manager insisted he was engaged in a development strategy whose fruits might not ripen until Euro 2024 but a couple of local reports suggested the patience of at least some officials at the Football Association of Ireland was wearing thin. The public is split between fans who claim Kenny’s methods will never work and those who maintain he deserves more time to implement a daring revolution in a country reaping the consequences of years of chronic neglect by the FAI.