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Still Stephen Kenny awaits his first competitive victory as Ireland manager. After Saturday's dismal draw at the Aviva Stadium against Azerbaijan, you wonder how many more opportunities he will get to break his duck.
Moments away from a memorable victory in Portugal on Wednesday before Cristiano Ronaldo's late intervention, Saturday signified an altogether different sense of disappointment.
Though Shane Duffy's 87th minute header spared the embarrassment of defeat at home by the side ranked 112th in the world by FIFA, the failure to secure all three points extinguished any faint hopes whatsoever of reaching Qatar 2022.
Shane Duffy scored a late header to salvage a draw for Ireland against Azerbaijan on Saturday
It is now just one win in fifteen matches for the 49-year-old since taking charge in April last year. The chorus of boos around a half-full stadium at full-time give the indication that patience is very much wearing thin among supporters.
Ireland had their first glimpse of goal inside five minutes. Josh Cullen picked out Matt Doherty's run from deep with a raking diagonal cross, but the Tottenham full-back couldn't direct his header on target.
Seconds later Adam Idah showed great strength down the right to outmuscle Hojjat Haghverdi and his cutback found Aaron Connolly, who saw his effort blocked behind for a corner.
Not even 10 minutes had elapsed when Seamus Coleman spurned the hosts' third glaring opening, firing over from inside the area after red shirts invited him to continue his charge by backing off the Ireland captain.
The warning signs, though, were there. While Azerbaijan's chances were fewer, they at least knew where the
