LAST minute goals can define a team and their manager.
They both ruined and redeemed Mick McCarthy during his six-year reign, allowing him to be depicted as a tactical buffoon after Davor Suker and Goran Stavreski's injury-time strikes for Croatia and Macedonia forced Ireland into a play-off with Turkey for a place in Euro 2000, before opinions of him changed at the 2002 World Cup.
All of a sudden McCarthy, the fool, was now McCarthy, the genius, the man who instilled a never-say-die attitude into his players, allowing them stand toe-to-toe with Germany and Spain and emerge as proud, unbeaten men.
These days Martin O'Neill sits in the office McCarthy once occupied and while his reign is still in its infancy, it has already been characterised by 90th minute events: Aidan McGeady's late winner in Georgia, John O'Shea's equaliser in Germany and now Shane Long's effort on Sunday.
"Don't forget we also hit the bar in the last minute against Scotland too," O'Neill reminded us on Sunday. "And it shows that while we may lack certain things as a team, we don't lack heart. We don't lack spirit. We'll keep going to the end, no matter what."
As a result, Ireland's Group D campaign will last right until the end now too. Had the Poles held out on Sunday, then automatic qualification would have been theirs to lose. Instead, at the half-way-stage of this campaign, they have a three-point lead over Ireland, rather than six.
Even that is a sizeable gap, though, as both countries are practically guaranteed to collect six points from their remaining fixtures against Georgia and Gibraltar, thereby leaving three games for O'Neill to claw back that three-point deficit.
Ireland, of course, travel to Warsaw for the final game of the group after hosting Germany and Scotland, two countries Poland must now travel to. One way or another, that final-day game in Warsaw will decide something, either O'Neill's fate as manager or Ireland's qualification destiny.
Are they good enough to make it to the finals in France next summer? There is reason to believe they are. Robbie Brady's mistake aside, Sunday's performance was decent, particularly the manner in which O'Neill's diversion to Plan B, after Plan A died a miserable death in the first half, changed the context of the game.
Suddenly, from being on the back foot, Ireland were charging down both flanks, James McClean's have-a-go attitude serving the dual purpose of reinvigorating a crowd that had been silenced by the events of the first half and reminding the Poles that at this level of international football, away-day victories are hard earned.
So are points on home soil. Sunday's was the latest chapter in a long-running narrative of Irish teams falling short against top-level opposition. Since the much maligned McCarthy left office in 2002, Ireland have played 35 competitive internationals over the course of 13 years against teams ranked in the world's top 50.
The results make for grim reading. Twenty-one of those games have ended in draws - against Russia in 2003 and 2011, Switzerland in 2004 and 2005, France in 2004 and 2009, Israel (twice) in 2005, the Czech Republic in 2007, Germany in 2007 and 2014, Slovakia in 2007, 2010 and 2011, Italy and Bulgaria (twice each) in 2009, Austria and Sweden (once each) in 2013 and now Poland.
So far so mediocre. Add in the 13 defeats in the same timeframe, to Switzerland, France (twice), Germany (three times), the Czechs, Spain, Italy, Scotland, Austria, Sweden and Croatia and the picture doesn't get any prettier, especially as the solitary victory in a competitive international against a high-ranking team in 13 years, came way back in 2007, against Slovakia.
"We need to beat Scotland," O'Neill insisted. "It's a must-win-game."
And it is for a number of reasons. Firstly, from a qualification perspective, Ireland are left playing catch-up. Poland's three-point gap can only be erased if Adam Nawalka's side slip up in Germany and Scotland - which is not beyond the realms of possibility - or if they lose at home to Ireland in November, which is unlikely.
More to the point, this regime and this team need to reconnect with an apathetic Irish public. Those 35 games have soured a lot of fans. Even back in the dark days of the 70s and 80s, when campaign after campaign ended in failure, there were some big wins and memorable days. Remember Don Givens and the USSR? Liam Brady and France? Mick Robinson and France?
But since McCarthy left, the best results have been draws. And while some of those were matched by superb performances - France in Paris under Brian Kerr and Giovanni Trapattoni saw Ireland at their best - it has been the failure to win at home that has driven fans away.
The last campaign was as bad as it has ever been. Twice Ireland led against Austria and Sweden and twice they were pegged back, continuing a recurring theme in Irish football's recent history. Those 21 draws include 12 games where Ireland took the lead on 12 occasions, only to get pegged back each time.
Six more games ended scoreless and, prior to O'Neill's arrival, just one game - the World Cup qualifier against Italy in Bari six years ago - saw Ireland come from behind to draw.
Now, under O'Neill, they have managed to do so twice. Plus they forced an injury-time win over Georgia and only the crossbar stopped them earning a point in Glasgow. "We're not quitters. We fight," said O'Neill.
Those basic qualities cannot be underestimated in sport, especially when your all-time top scorer is showing signs of wear and tear at the grand old age of 34. Still worth considering for selection, it also has to be pointed out that Robbie Keane's goals against the higher ranked sides, are drying up.
Including Euro 2012, Keane's record of one goal from 10 internationals against Croatia, Spain, Italy, Germany, Scotland (where he appeared as a substitute), Sweden, Poland, and Austria represents a poor return, suggesting it is time for a horses-for-courses approach, Keane for the games against the Gibraltars and Georgias, Shane Long for the bigger names and tougher tests.
Changing tact, however, is something O'Neill is prepared to do. He dropped Keane in Glasgow. He uses Wes Hoolahan at home, Stephen Quinn away. Sunday saw him gamble with an attacking team selection and then play a different hand when his cards didn't come up. He knows the game. He appears to be the best man for the job. Last minute goals aren't the sign of a lucky manager, but a good one.
