And it was the start of a decent spell for Ireland as Molumby was next up with a look at goal following more good play out on the right by Ogbene and Szmodics, but again the shot could not hit the target, flying over the bar.
Another moment of Irish pressure led to Szmodics getting on the ball in space inside the box, however, he had to check back as the shooting window was firmly shut.
Midway through the half, England appeared to settle for the points, happy to sit back and thwart the sporadic Ireland attacks; a half-chance presented itself for Godon in the 69th minute against the run of play, but Kelleher wasn’t troubled.
Another double substitution saw Kasey McAteer come of for his international debut, while Alan Browne was also introduced.
Three subs for the three Lions, as Grealish milked his final moments as pantomime villain, leaving the pitch, very slowly, to an encore from the boo boys.
The game had completely lost its edge by the time Evan Ferguson came on in the 85th minute as England made changes of their own, and it was substitute Jarrod Bowen who almost made an immediate impact, forcing Kelleher to make another decent save from his close-range shot.
Five minutes of added time came and went as Saka forced a final save from Kelleher, with Ireland happy to see the game out, losing by two, but well aware that it could have been more.
Republic of Ireland: Caoimhin Kelleher; Seamus Coleman (captain) (Jake O'Brien 57), Dara O'Shea, Nathan Collins: Matt Doherty (Jason Knight 57), Robbie Brady (Evan Ferguson 82), Will Smallbone (Alan Browne 75), Jayson Molumby; Sammie Szmodics, Chiedozie Ogbene, Adam Idah (Kasey McAteer 75)
England: Jordan Pickford; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Harry Maguire (John Stones 85), Marc Guehi: Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo (Angel Gomes 77); Jack Grealish (Morgan Gibbs-White 77), Anthony Gordon (Eberechi Eze 77), Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane (Jarrod Bowen 84)
Referee: Jose Maria Sanchez (SPA)
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