Republic of Ireland 1 Turkey 2 These continue to be tough times for the FAI who must have hoped their new management team would help to generate a little more interest in the end of season affairs like this.

Proof of the ongoing organisation’s optimism came with the announcement late on, though, with the official attendance for the game. The place was half-full, apparently. Even after a week in which many family tickets had been freely available on the internet it certainly didn’t look that way to the rest of us.

Quite why so few bother to come along when the tickets cost little or literally nothing is hard to fathom at times but the downward spiral that has robbed even the more entertaining friendlies of any real atmosphere because of the lack of supporters has clearly played its part.

Stakes low
Not that this was one of the more compelling ones but it was certainly open and the Turks won mainly because they took a higher percentage of their share of the chances that started to flow after about a minute and never really completely dried up.

In a competitive game some of the defending, even in midfield, that gave rise to this all would have been unthinkable and the bottom line is that it remains a challenge to derive much entertainment from something where the stakes are manifestly so low.

A new problem looms for the association with a second straight home defeat sure to further dent expectation and excitement levels just as they look to market next season’s fixtures.

Martin O’Neill has spoken on several occasions recently about his desire to start seeing some of his desired approach being reflected in the way the team plays and there were at least elements that may have pleased him here with Aiden McGeady an important influence both centrally and out wide when, as it often did, the team moved the ball forward quite well.

The regularity with which possession was rather cheaply surrendered by both sides was a clear indication that neither was entirely fixated on winning, or even impressing it seemed at times, and it was actually the Turks who did better when it came to pressuring opponents into mistakes although they also made more careless ones themselves when under no pressure at all.

The Irish were a little late getting into the swing of things and might have found themselves behind before they had even woken up to the fact that the game was on but Mevlut Erdinc's shot from outside the area, where he was left with time and space in which to tee things up, was no more than awkward for Rob Elliot whose decision to skip his own stag trip to Vegas was rewarded by O'Neill with a first international cap.

Teasing cross
There wasn't much the newcomer could have done about the opening goal 16 minutes later with Ahmet Ilhan Ozek getting the right side of his marker to guide a teasing cross by Gokhan Gonul just inside the right-hand post.

The frustrating thing was Ireland should already have been ahead for Shane Long had fairly clearly been impeded by Omer Toprak inside the area during the opening minutes when the French referee had for some reason chosen to wave play on.

The through ball from the edge of the centre circle that sent Long on his way had been McGeady’s first significant contribution of the afternoon but he was to follow it with crosses from both flanks that presented team mates with clear-cut chances. The best of them falling to James McClean whose first-time strike flew straight at the goalkeeper.

McGeady’s set pieces caused problems too and from the follow up to a poorly defended early free, John O’Shea turned the call towards the bottom right corner where left back Caner Erkin had to clear it off the line.

It was a resolute ending to a slightly slapstick spell of defending by the visitors and there were plenty more lapses to follow. When the chances to do so came their way, though, the Irish could never quite find the sort of finish required to get themselves back level.

O'Neill sought to shake things up, throwing on Jon Walters, Daryl Murphy and David Meyler in the hope, one presumes of adding a little more punch to the Irish play, especially around their opponents' box.

Triple substitution
It was the Turks, though, who were to get the next goal with poor defending again key to the opportunity. When the triple substitution had been made Marc Wilson had been rotated back into central defence from his original role alongside Glenn Whelan.

During what should have been a routine spell of pressure on the edge of the area shortly afterwards, Erdinc broke from the pack and raced into the area down the right while Osman Tarik Camdal did the same on the left. Wilson went with the striker and managed to get goal side of both allowing Oguzhan Ozyakup to take full advantage by playing in Camdal, who took a touch then buried the ball in the roof of the net.

There was the odd boo from the locals while the tiny cluster of Turkish fans celebrated but some respectability was quickly restored when, barely a minute or so after the restart, Wes Hoolahan found Walters with a long ball forward and the Stoke City striker neatly cut inside Toprak before producing an almost identical finish.

The equaliser never really looked like coming during the few minutes that remained and O’Neill will have to console himself with there being enough decent individual performances to provide encouragement.

It’s as well, though, that he has more games and more time on the training ground with which to work with over the coming weeks because in terms of being the finished article, assuming you actually believe this was really anything to go by, only an optimist could think this team is even half way there.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Elliot (Newcastle United); Coleman (Everton), O'Shea (Sunderland), Delaney (Crystal Palace), Ward (Wolves); Whelan (Stoke City), Wilson (Stoke City); McGeady (Everton), Hoolahan (Norwich City), McClean (Wigan Athletic); Long (Hull City). Subs: Meyler (Hull City) for Delaney, Walters (Stoke City) for Long, Murphy for McGeady (all 65 mins), Quinn (Hull City) for Whelan, (82 mins).

TURKEY: Kivrak; Gonul, Toprak, Balta, Erkin; Sahin; Ozek, Inan, Kisa, Calhanoglu; Erdinc. Subs: Ozyakup for Inan (21 mins), Tufan for Kisa (half-time), Adin for Calhanoglu (64 mins) Camdal for Ozek (70 mins), Pektemek for Erdinc (82 mins), Dogan for Sahin (84 mins). Referee: R Buquet (France).