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:

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:

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 on the clock, it was Ireland that broke the deadlock. Captain John O'Shea rose highest by the penalty spot to power a header toward goal that was well kept out by Jasper Cillessen; however, the rebound dropped to the feet of Long inside the six-yard box, and he finished calmly.

FA Ireland celebrated the strike on social media...

...before the official account posted a video of the goal on Twitter: 

Saints attacker Long now has 16 goals in 62 appearances for his country and is the first-choice starter ahead of iconic forward Robbie Keane.

The goal against the run of play appeared to settle the hosts, as they enjoyed a rare spell of lengthy possession, forcing wingers Memphis Depay and Quincy Promes into narrower positions in order to contain the Irish midfielders.

Memphis' dazzling feet sparked a reaction from the Dutch contingent in the crowd, as the Manchester United attacker jinxed his way through a couple of challenges before forcing a corner, but Ireland saw off the half comfortably. 

CAROLINE QUINN/Getty Images

The Green Army had three chances in quick succession following the half-time interval but failed to make the Dutch pay after some sloppy finishing.

Defender Shane Duffy crashed a header narrowly over the crossbar from inside the area from an in-swinging corner, before Bruma was fortunate to turn another set piece away from goal. Dead plays continued to unsettle the Netherlands defence, which looked panicked every time it had to manage set situations. 

Jon Walters headed an effort on goal that fell to goalscorer Long, but the 29-year-old could only head over from on the goal line.

Despite seeing less of the ball, O'Neill's side remained confident in themselves and looked to be positive every time they moved forward as a unit. For all their possession, the Dutch failed to register an effort on goal with 10 minutes left to play.

But with five minutes to play, the Oranje found the back of the net with their first attempt on goal, as detailed by OptaJohan:

Jetro Willems bent a sublime cross to the far post from the left flank that found De Jong. The PSV Eindhoven attacker had only been on the pitch for two minutes but did well to angle his body and turn his header across goal, leaving goalkeeper Darren Randolph with little chance to recover.

Ireland will be satisfied with their performance against the Netherlands on Friday night, with O'Neill's men positioning themselves intelligently when not in possession to form a contained, resilient unit. The work rate and goal threat of Long enabled the side to utilise a counter-attacking style that was effectively implemented.

For the Dutch, their attacking potency was non-existent throughout, with their fans forced to wait until the 85th minute for their first attempt on goal. Blind has a long road of recovery ahead of him but can take small positives in their late equaliser.  

Post-Match Reaction

Martin O'Neill spoke of his satisfaction at the team's performance at the full-time whistle against the Netherlands but admitted the late equaliser was a blow. Per Ireland's official Twitter account, he said: "Overall, I was pleased. Disappointing to concede but overall I was pleased."

He also highlighted the important role his Norwich City winger plays, per FA Ireland:

Blackburn Rovers defender Shane Duffy produced a fine performance in the heart of the back four, and O'Neill praised the 24-year-old's continued improvement. Per the national team's social media team, he said: "He (Duffy) had another excellent performance. He has come on leaps and bounds. I thought he did very well."

Per Irish Independent football correspondent David McDonnell, Netherlands manager Danny Blind was less than complimentary about the style of play Ireland produced on Friday night, claiming their opponents' technique was limited: "They are very dangerous with corners and free kicks," he said. "That's football for them."