Celtic defender Liam Scales will be disappointed that his Republic of Ireland side suffered their latest defeat away to the Netherlands on Saturday night but he came through the 90 minutes with personal credit.
Scales lined up in a central back-three, supported by wing-backs, as Dutch boss Ronald Koeman fielded an elite attack of Wout Weghorst, Cody Gakpo and Xavi Simons.
Weghorst’s goal after 12 minutes was enough to secure the 1-0 victory they needed to confirm their qualification for next year’s Euros.
That came as a result of some ramshackle Irish defending with Nathan Collins fended off by Weghorst far too easily, who turned, sprinted and finished with aplomb.
Ireland faced severe pressure throughout the rest of the 90 minutes but Scales showed bravery and defensive resilience to help prevent a heavier defeat, with goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu also playing a significant role.
A busy night for Liam Scales vs Netherlands
The 25-year-old made some crucial interventions during the qualifying fixture, perhaps most notably to turn away a tricky Denzel Dumfries ball into the box in the 35th minute that had Weghorst waiting to pounce for his second.
Overall he had 70 touches of the ball and his distribution was mostly crisp and accurate, with 89% completion. In contrast to his Celtic performances, however, he didn’t get much opportunity to progress into the opposition half.
He won six of his nine duels contested, all of which came on the ground. He successfully won four of five tackles, made two interceptions and a clearance.
There was one worrying moment in the second half when he clashed heads with Simons. For a moment it looked as if he may have to go off but he got to his feet and soldiered on as the Irish further frustrated the Dutch.
As Scales, and the rest of the Irish defence tired, with their teammates pushing for an equaliser, there was a fair bit of space for the home side to exploit but Southampton goalkeeper Bazunu was there to hold firm.
The Celtic man, whose FotMob rating came in at 7.1, has done his chances of winning more caps in an Ireland shirt no harm at all, even if Ireland decide to part ways with Stephen Kenny and seek a new manager at the end of a disappointing qualifying campaign.
In other news, Alistair Johnston international break bonus for Celtic.
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