The early goal was a bit of a poisoned chalice, the French were always going to come out at a higher tempo in the second half when they needed to score. The players can come home with their heads held high anyway, like most Irish teams you couldn't fault the effort or commitment. It was just a bit much to ask the central defenders in particular to make the huge step up from the Championship standard they're used to. I'd be a lot more hopeful for the future than I was after the shambles of 4 years ago. At the end of the day we had our first win at the European Championships since 1988 and our first at any tournament since 2002. We also progressed to the second round for the first time since 2002. There's the backbone of a decent team there, the like of Randolph, Coleman, Brady, Hendrick. It was a tough baptism for Duffy but hopefully he will learn and grow from it. A pity Robbie Keane didn't get a run out for his swansong, I would be surprised to see him in a green shirt again. Likewise John O'Shea. Hopefully there's another campaign in Hoolahan and Walters, and we'll find a couple of young players somewhere to push on into the next campaign.