Finland v Ireland: Five takeaways after Robbie Brady claims a late, late Nations League victory

A big night for Heimir Hallgrimsson after Ireland recovered from skipper Nathan Collins' first half error to turn around their fortunes

A first ever away win in the Nations League and Heimir Hallgrimsson's reign is up and running.

Dubbed as a meeting of two teams at a similarly low ebb, in truth either team could have claimed the victory at the death. Ireland's worrying descent was halted in Helsinki, however, thanks to Robbie Brady.

Moments earlier, Finland had come within the inch of the post from taking an 88th minute lead and Ireland were staring down the barrel of a trip to Athens looking for a first competitive win in nine fixtures, taking the Gibraltar games out of it.

Every team needs a turning point. Perhaps this was it.

Robbie Brady turns back time

From Lille to Helsinki, from the summer of 2016 to late autumn in 2024, Brady delivers. This was another big goal for his country. Written into Irish football folklore thanks to his brilliantly timed run onto Wes Hoolahan's angled cross from deep at Euro 2016, the former St Kevin's starlet produced the goods again when needed to hand a much-needed winner to a team that needed to find a victory from somewhere. Brady is one of the great survivors, having fought back from injury. He had been written off by plenty but his commitment to the cause never wavered and gets his reward.

Liam Scales is a man for European nights

On September 18 he stooped to conquer with a lovely headed goal for Celtic against Slovan Bratislava in Glasgow and he did it again for Ireland against Finland, making the most of Robbie Brady's superb free-kick to equalise in the 58th minute after the visitors upped the tempo after half-time. His form so far this season deserved this start, and the Wicklow man deserves to stay in the team for the Greece game and beyond. While he is getting plenty of game time, Evan Ferguson badly needs some at club level at the other end despite some promising moments.

Nathan's nightmare
Something didn't sit right about Nathan Collins' assessment that it is "nearly easy" to be Ireland captain in the current environment. "There are so many leaders," said Collins this week. "I could go through this team and name six or seven boys who would help me out, chip in, talk, motivate, and it makes my job easier." This late victory hopefully means that leaders are starting to step up, but they had been in short supply. Sadly, Ireland's captain on the night in Helsinki failed to step up when he handed Joel Pohanjanpalo Finland's goal on a plate in the 16th minute.

Yellow flag fever
The white flag gets raised when you want to surrender. In fairness, this Ireland team is no different than previous incarnations in terms of never giving up, but the raising of the yellow flag has really hurt them in the last two games. First there was Chiedozie Ogbene's spectacular goal against Greece that was disallowed because he strayed just a touch beyond the last defender in receiving Jayson Molumby's pass. Then Evan Ferguson's 21st minute effort was ruled out in Helsinki, with Nathan Collins penalised though he looked to be onside and to have kept the ball in play. When your luck's out, it's out.

Connolly comeback?
We're always looking for the bright new thing who could transform our fortunes, but a previously discarded one could yet bring something special to the table. Aaron Connolly revealed in an interview with Sunderland's YouTube channel that he attended an alcohol addiction treatment clinic in the summer. Connolly, remember, burst onto the Premier League scene while still a teenager, scoring two goals on his debut for Tottenham. The Galwegian struggled with the trappings of fame and deserves a lot of credit for getting his life in order. If he can find form with Sunderland, perhaps an international recall won't be far off.

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