Amidst what has been a whirlwind few months for John O’Shea since taking over the national team, time stood still for the interim manager as he watched Troy Parrott take off towards the Hungary goal in injury time of the international friendly on Tuesday night.
With the game finely poised at 1-1 and the home side defending a corner, the young Dubliner, who came on as a second-half substitute, burst out of his own box and seconds later was bearing down on goal.
Racing alongside him was fellow forward Sammie Szmodics, offering an alternative route, but Parrott took on the responsibility to finish the game off and handed O’Shea his first win as Ireland manager at the third time of asking.
"We had to defend a set piece and next thing we're breaking away and I'm convinced he's squaring it, thinking it's a tap in, happy days, we've got a win, incredible," said O’Shea, recalling those final moments of the game.
"And then he's done what he's done, time stood still for a few seconds, but I think the team and the group and the staff, for the work they've put in, not just for tonight, but for the last three games, got our rewards."
Those rewards appear to have come from the strong emphasis that O’Shea is putting on analysis and training ground work, which he credits for the first goal of the game, as Adam Idah attacked the right space in anticipation of Will Smallbone’s delivery.
"We showed him a couple of clips from training yesterday…so we just reminded him before the game that, if we are in crossing positions, why we should get the detail right on it," explained O’Shea.
"Thankfully, Will Smallbone’s technique and ability, very little back lift, boom, and Adam has done what he’s done for the last six months. He was in the right position and it was a fantastic goal.
"It’s nice when you’re working on things like that, you’re showing lads and they take it on board because it was actually the first time I really felt we took a bit more care and detail in our passing.
"I think we connected three or four passes, Will made a run we were looking for in terms of that corner kind of run and then that delivery he made was top-class."
The manager, however, was not happy with the quality of some of his team’s play throughout the contest – he feels end-of-season fatigue played its part – and he felt that it cost his side several opportunities to hurt Hungary during the game.
"We need more detail and care in our passing, and our technique in terms of that first half - what we showed against Belgium and Switzerland - was frustrating in the sense of we’d looked at things and worked on things and the pictures were there for the players and it was a little bit of detail and care for the players.
"I’ve mentioned how tricky it is in terms of fitness and managing lads, and you think of Troy playing up until a couple of days ago and you’re trying to get details into them.
"There was one with I think five minutes to go, Troy and Séamus, you’re giving all these details to people and had Troy been in earlier in the week he would have known just to drop back in and pick up the ball, Séamie had gone high, which is the right thing to do, and there’s a little bit of confusion and the next thing Hungary are going attacking us.
"That’s the sort of thing you’re having to cope and react to and thankfully the boys did and Troy in particular, I’m delighted for him. He showed that desire for his country to get back in as quickly as he could, get his recovery done and be ready to go.
"I’d argue it was the time of year that we’ve suffered from in previous years, but thankfully we were able to focus on it, not give too many chances away in terms of the trouble Caoimhín had to deal with so that was impressive for me."
Overall, O’Shea believes that it is a positive time for Irish football, and even allowed himself a moment to speak hypothetically about getting the job on a full-time basis.
The manager placed a strong emphasis on the importance of experience in and around the squad, and that has been evident from some of his selections with Shane Duffy, Robbie Brady, Enda Stevens, Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty included, while he has also left the door open for James McClean to, once again, line out in green.
"There's newer players coming on the scene to push [for places], there's a constant development in the sense of the squad.
"I'll be clear on it. If it's a certain scenario that I do get the job, or myself and the staff did get the job, there's lots to be positive about in terms of planning and prepping.
"But also know there's still players that can do a job for Ireland that are maybe thinking, 'is my time done?' - no, we need experience, we had experience on the pitch tonight to win the game."
And whether he is the man to take Ireland into the September fixtures, with a home clash against England pencilled in to kick-off the Nations League campaign, O’Shea stressed the importance of the victory over Hungary in terms of restoring confidence within the squad for future tournaments.
"It was big for the group, we needed that win, we all needed that win to have the confidence of winning again," said O’Shea.
"I've mentioned it, to qualify for tournaments again, we need a strong home record, a strong belief that we can see games out. If we are playing well, if we're not playing well, we find a way."
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