On Lansdowne Road's final night of football before the builders are due to move in, Irish supporters will be hoping to see their side bid adieu to a ground once renowned as something of a fortress with a flurry of goals this evening.
Few will care much where they come from but Steve Staunton, one suspects, would take particular satisfaction from a big win if it marked the occasion when Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle cemented their partnership by finding the net a few times between them.
Keane is, by his standards, enduring an international dry spell with his last goal at this level coming against Sweden in March but has managed three in his last five outings for his club. Doyle made his debut in that 3-0 win but has yet to get off the mark in four senior appearances. The quality of his performances, not to mention the dramatic rate at which he has progressed over the past year and a half, however, suggests he should not have to wait much longer.
"I think when you consider he's somebody who isn't that long out of the League of Ireland it's a fantastic story," says Keane. "Hopefully he'll pave the way for other players from the league here to make the breakthrough because he's made an amazing impact in a very short space of time. Last year in the Championship he was banging them in but people were saying that he would struggle in the Premiership but he's proven people wrong.
"Kevin likes to play right up against the two centre halves," the Ireland captain continued, "while I prefer to drop off and try to make things happen, if you like, and last weekend (when Reading played Spurs) he showed how good he is at what he does. His movement and running off the ball were brilliant. Ledley King is one of the best defenders in the Premiership but I spoke to him afterwards and he talked about the way he gets into channels making him very hard to play against."
Even if Ireland secure the win required to restore a small sense of respectability to its place in the group, Keane insists leaving Lansdowne Road in its present form will be an occasion tinged with sadness. "It's not so long I was coming along here to watch the games so for me it's very emotional," said the 26-year-old.
As a player, he remarked, the games against The Netherlands in 2001 and last month's draw with the Czech Republic were memorable for the atmosphere. "I know people go on about the 12th man and all that but the fact is those were fantastic occasions and it definitely does help you when you're out there.
"We didn't do ourselves any favours out in Cyprus," he continued, "but the fans did themselves proud the way they supported us a few days later in the Czech game. Their singing was amazing, even after we conceded the goal . . . I've always wanted to play at Croke Park and I never thought football would be played there but this place has been very special."
Asked about his own days as a supporter at the ground, the game that sprang to mind first was the one against England in February, 1995. "Yeah, you know, the one that was abandoned after all the hassle," he says before adding with a chuckle, "although as soon as any of that started I just scarpered."
