John O'Shea's interim Ireland reign comes to an end with a 1-0 loss ...

Republic of Ireland 0

Switzerland 1

A late rally by the Republic of Ireland wasn’t enough on Tuesday evening, as the side managed by John O’Shea went down 1-0 to Switzerland at the Aviva Stadium.

Xherdan Shaqiri scored the game’s only goal midway through the first half, and that decided a lively international friendly in Dublin.

Cork’s Caoimhin Kelleher and Chiedozie Ogbene did not feature, and Adam Idah came off the bench.

All eyes and ears will now be on the FAI's board meeting on Wednesday where surely the name of the new manager will be revealed

John O’Shea kept the 3-5-2 system from Saturday’s draw with Belgium, but the fluency in possession counted for nothing as Switzerland looked more comfortable on the ball and they created the game’s first chance.

Republic of Ireland vs Switzerland: Ireland's Interim Head Coach John O'Shea and Assistant Coach Paddy McCarthy

Bazunu dealt with this by getting in the way of a Vincent Sierro shot, and any sense of optimism inside the Aviva evaporated when the Swiss won a free-kick and Shaqiri curled the ball into the bottom right corner.

Ireland responded by doubling down and continuing with O’Shea’s game plan. 

This meant Seamus Coleman and Robbie Brady getting forward and trying to create overloads in the final third.

For all of the passes, it was a free-kick that opened the Swiss up and allowed Ireland to go for goal for the first time. 

This came from a Brady free-kick that Dara O’Shea headed back into the area, and a point blank Andrew Omobamidele header was caught by Yvon Mvogo.

As Ireland tried to build on this opening, a pass by Bazunu was picked off by Granit Xhaka and the midfielder tried to score with his first touch. He hit the inside of the post and Zeki Amdouni mis-hit the rebound.

John O’Shea went to the bench shortly after the restart, and Idah was brought on. 

One of the striker’s first touches involved knocking a Matt Doherty headed pass goal-wards, and the ball went just wide.

Ireland kept going, and trying to create something by targeting wide positions. 

Switzerland were resolute, and picked off ever pass sent into the area. Idah was eventually forced to shoot from wide positions, and he went close to scoring in the 80th minute.

Finn Azaz made his senior debut as a substitute and the Ireland U21 international almost hit the back of the net with one of his first touches. This was to be the final piece of action in the Aviva, and it brought the curtain down on the March international window for the Boys in Green.

Seamus Coleman of Republic of Ireland during the international friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Switzerland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Republic of Ireland: Gavin Bazunu; Seamus Coleman, Dara O’Shea, Andrew Omobamidele, Josh Cullen, Evan Ferguson, Robbie Brady, Mikey Johnston, Sammie Szmodics, Jason Knight, Nathan Collins.

Subs: Will Smallbone for Knight (57); Adam Idah for Johnston (57), Matt Doherty for Omobamidele (57), Callum O’Dowda for Brady (79), Mark Sykes for Szmodics (79), Finn Azaz for Cullen (87).

Switzerland: Yvon Mvogo; Silvan Widmer, Nico Nlvedi, Zeki Amdouni, Granit Xhaka, Eray Comert, Dan Ndoye, Michel Aebischer, Fabian Schar, Xherdan Shaqiri, Vincent Sierro.

Subs: Remo Freuler for Xhaka (46); Kevin Mbabu for Widmer (64); Denis Zakaria for Sierro (64), Dereck Kutesa for Ndoye (64), Noah Okafor for Shaqiri (75), Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland)