Michael Obafemi leads stylish Ireland’s emphatic win over dour Scotland

Crisis, what crisis? Stephen Kenny responded to suggestions his job as the Republic of Ireland manager may be under threat by presiding over a demolition job on Scotland. Ireland entered this Nations League tie with a record of two wins in 17 competitive games under Kenny. They left it with hope of a brighter future fully restored. Kenny’s overdue glory was emphatic in style.

As for Scotland? This proved a horror show for Steve Clarke. Gibraltar were the last team to conceded three or more goals in Dublin. Gibraltar were the last team to lose a competitive game here; three years ago. The scale of embarrassment for the Scots could and should have been far worse. This was an utterly abject display during which Scotland were barely even competitive. Considering the proven importance of the Nations League to this team – it was their route to Euro 2020 – that the Scots were outfought and outthought was a genuine head-scratcher. Scotland went through the motions in a way that bore ominous similarity to a 4-0 tousing in Wales during the dying embers of the Berti Vogts regime.

The whiff of negativity had returned to the Irish scene after the 1-0 loss in Armenia last week. Kenny has cause to point to scant resources at his disposal but results such as that one fall firmly into the “unacceptable” category. Given the subsequent loss to Ukraine, Ireland’s Nations League campaign was arguably doomed even before kick-off here. Or so it appeared.

Scotland’s situation looked nowhere near as grim. Nonetheless, Ukraine’s World Cup playoff success in Glasgow continues to sting. The sense that Clarke and his players believe they were over-criticised for their showing in that match is a live one. Whether that is a fair perception or not, a