Republic of Ireland vs. Netherlands: Score, Reaction from International Friendly

The Republic of Ireland drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in a friendly encounter at Aviva Stadium on Friday night.  

Shane Long opened the scoring midway through the first period, tapping in from close range, as the Irish looked to have secured a confidence-boosting victory ahead of Euro 2016.

But with five minutes left to play in Dublin, Luuk de Jong headed in at the far post to ensure a share of the spoils.

As expected, the friendly tie took a while to build from the first whistle with little reward on offer for either side. The Netherlands are undergoing a revamp following their failure to qualify for the European Championship, while the Irish players were preserving themselves physically for the impending tournament in France.

OptaJohan detailed the youth on show in Danny Blind’s starting XI:

12 – The starting line-up of the Dutch national team has scored 12 international goals between them, 3 fewer than Shane Long (15). Rookies.

— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) May 27, 2016

Neither side offered little going forward in the opening 20 minutes, with the Netherlands dominating the possession stats—a theme Martin O’Neill’s men will have to get used to ahead of the upcoming championship in June. 

The former Celtic coach will be pleased to have added to his stable start as manager, with OptaJoe providing the stats:

1 – Martin O’Neill has lost just one of his last 12 games in charge of the Republic of Ireland (W6 D5). Solid.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 27, 2016

The centre-half pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Jeffrey Bruma easily dealt with the long balls played forward toward Long, while the Irish midfielders appeared inept at retaining possession in the opposing half whenever they crossed the halfway line.

However, with 30 minutes …

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