Republic of Ireland and England played out a goalless international friendly in Dublin on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts shaded the play in the first period, while England looked the more likely to score after the break.
Neither could make the breakthrough, however, and now both teams will switch their attention to Euro 2016 qualification.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action from Dublin.
Match statistics
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Shots: 8
On target: 1
Possession: 37%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 16
ENGLAND
Shots: 14
On target: 3
Possession: 63%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 12
Was the result fair?
This is not a game that will live long in the memory. It would probably be fair to say that Republic of Ireland shaded the first period in Dublin and indeed had the best two chances of the first 45 minutes. England improved after the break, however, and perhaps could have made the breakthrough. When balancing what occurred, neither team really did enough to deserve a win and therefore a draw was a fair result. It looked exactly what it was - a post-season friendly between two sides that have more pressing matters ahead. The fact that there was only one yellow card also tells the story in terms of challenges, with both sets of players keen to avoid injury. It was a drab goalless draw, but there was peace in the stands.
Republic of Ireland's performance
There were a couple of surprises in Martin O'Neill's lineup for the match, with Ipswich Town duo David McGoldrick and Daryl Murphy given the nod in attack. It was the latter that had the best two chances of the first period, but the forward had a low strike saved by Joe Hart, before he headed a Jeff Hendrick free kick wide of the post. Republic of Ireland were the more dangerous outfit in the first half, with Aiden McGeady and Seamus Coleman both prepared to break forward. That said, the delivery was not always the best, which made it fairly straight-forward for the England back-line. O'Neill made a couple of changes at the break and the hosts almost took the lead in the 51st minute when Robbie Brady delivered a low free kick towards the bottom corner, but Hart was again on hand to make the save as the score remained level.
Some sloppy defending allowed Jordan Henderson to feed Wayne Rooney just outside the Republic of Ireland box early in the second period, but the striker's touch was poor and Kieran Westwood was out to claim. The hosts had made their fifth change by the 63rd minute and the flurry of subs did make it difficult for the play to flow in the final third. Harry Arter, on his international debut, showed some bright moments, but Shane Long and Jonathan Walters struggled to get into the match. Statistics rarely paint a false picture in football and Republic of Ireland only had one shot on target, which is an indication of their struggles in the final third. There were some positives, however, with John O'Shea impressing at the back, while Coleman and Brady also had strong games in the full-back positions. O'Neill will be quite content with that occurred ahead of the Scotland match. The importance of that fixture just cannot be downplayed.
England's performance
England boss Roy Hodgson decided against selecting either Jamie Vardy or Charlie Austin from the start in Dublin, and instead went with Rooney in the middle of Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana. The Three Lions started the match quite well in possession of the ball, but the fact that they did not manage a single attempt on target in the first period is a demonstration of what occurred in the opening 45 minutes. Jack Wilshere was the only real bright spark going forward, but a number of players seemed on their holidays, which is concerning with Slovenia to come next weekend. As touched upon, Rooney had a chance to register early in the second half, but his touch was poor having been found by Henderson. England's tempo did improve in the second period, but clear chances were at a premium and the first substitution was not made until the 66th minute. Andros Townsend and Ross Barkley both added invention in the final third and the second half was an improvement on the first, but the lack of cutting edge was still very much evident.
Vardy was also brought on for his international debut in the 74th minute and the Leicester City striker can be pleased with his cameo appearance. Barkley had a couple of shooting opportunities late on, but the statistics are a little generous for England, with the majority of their 14 attempts failing to test the hosts. It was also a difficult game for Sterling, with the Liverpool attacker struggling to make his mark as club issues remain on his mind. Chris Smalling was excellent at the heart of the defence, however, and Hodgson also had the chance to see Phil Jones at right-back for a whole 90 minutes. The England boss will struggle to take many positives, however, on what was a poor performance from the Three Lions. There was little pace and invention in their ranks and there will need to be much improvement when they face Slovenia.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Chris Smalling: There was not really one player that particularly stood out, but Smalling had a very good game at the heart of the England defence. The Manchester United defender has had a lot of criticism over the last 12 months or so, but he had a strong end to the 2014-15 season and was again very solid in Dublin. There is a reason why United boss Louis van Gaal handed the 25-year-old the captain's armband towards the end of last season.
Biggest gaffe
Rooney is chasing down the England scoring record, and he had the perfect chance to go level on 48 goals with Gary Lineker early in the second half after being played through by Henderson. The skipper's touch was poor, however, and the ball bobbled through to Westwood. There were a number of poor performances for the visitors, but the incident involving Rooney was the standout gaffe.
Referee performance
Arnold Hunter will not have many easier games to referee. The Northern Irishman only issued one yellow card in Dublin and that was for a rash challenge from James McCarthy late in the first period. England had a penalty shout through Sterling in the second half, but Hunter was not interested and on second viewing, it was the correct decision. Hunter was simply not seen for long spells of the match.
What next?
Republic of Ireland: O'Neill's side continue their Euro 2016 Group D qualification campaign at home to Scotland next Saturday.
England: The Three Lions, meanwhile, will attempt to make it six wins from six Group E matches when they travel to Slovenia next Sunday.
Matt Law
