On Thursday night Ireland had been on course to make the playoff final where they could bid for a place in the World Cup finals for the first time in 24 years. Heimir Hallgrimsson's side were 2-0 up early on, but were eventually forced to extra time and penalties by the Czech Republic, who went on to win in Prague.
That defeat understandably took the wind out of the sails of the Irish players, who were able to muster a handful of chances at goal at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday evening, but were ultimately unable to bring about the goal that would go some way to easing last week's pain.
Despite the lack of jeopardy in the game and the short turnaround from that Prague reverse, some 40,000 fans were in attendance to show their support for Hallgrimsson and his players.
"It was always going to be a difficult game for us and our fans," Player of the Match Troy Parrott told RTE. "To see so many of them cheering us on in a friendly on a Tuesday night really warms my heart.
"We done our best and we came together as a team, as a country and with our fans. We have got a lot more to play for and we are going to come again.
"For me personally, to see so many kids with my name on signs and calling my name is a dream."
Given they will take no part in the summer's World Cup, Ireland's attention will now turn to a trio of friendlies against Grenada, Qatar and Canada in May and June, before kicking off their Nations League campaign in September.