A goal would have sealed the performance, and he came so close. Nicking inside the German defence, Duffer got his foot to Steve Finnan’s rasping cross but Oliver Kahn expanded to twice his size and touched the ball wide.

It looked like being one of those games as if Ireland basing themselves in Chiba, which has inspired much of William Gibson’s bleak fictional futures, has ensured a bleak Gibson-esque reality for the squad: simply not getting what they so plainly deserved.

“I thought it was gone,” Duffer said. “Everyone thought it was gone. We deserved a lot more out of the game but it was great to see Robbie score in the end.”

However, from certain vantage points, it looked like the night of near misses would be the theme. Mick McCarthy turned away from Keane’s shot in frustration, sure he had hit the post before jumping in celebration, Shay Given thought he had missed it, even Duffer standing in the box felt so.

“It took an eternity to go in, I wasn’t even sure if it was going to,” Duff remembers. “We had a few good chances, I had a couple myself during the course of he game. It looked like we were never going to get a goal. I kept looking at the clock, thought that was it. To see it go in with virtually the last kick was unbelievable.”

The goal wiped 65 minutes of frustration clean for the Irish team and will stop Duff agonising over Kahn’s save, which enhanced the feeling it was one of those nights.

Matt Holland was another player who the forces conspired against. Soon after Klose had headed Germany in front, the ball fell to Holland in a similar position to Niigata, and he drove a similar right-footed daisy-cutter towards Kahn’s goal. Wasn’t to be this time, however.

“It just went the wrong side of the post, but that doesn’t matter, this is a terrific result,” Holland said.

“The important thing was not losing and losing 1-0 with ten minutes to go, it wasn’t looking good. But, our fans were exceptional there again and that kept us going.”

Duff’s magical performance was fresh in everyone’s mind and the Ipswich skipper was no different.

“Duffer makes things out of nothing and he chases everything. When you are on a pitch like that, and you can get ricochets and all sorts of things, you are glad to have him on the team.”

For everybody watching, the organisation of the Germans was the most infuriating aspect. They found the net and seemed content with that. No need to panic, just relax. It was no different on the field.

And as time ticked on, they were using their experience to play down the clock.

A minute here for a throw, a moment there for some treatment. Gibson couldn’t have dreamt up how bleak it all was looking for the Irish team.

“They were taking their time on set-pieces, they were taking the time in getting rid of the ball,” Shay Given recollects.

"They knew that time was almost up. But all credit to the lads, they dug deep and to see the reaction on all the lads at the end, this means so much and better it came late than never.

“Over the course of the game, we deserved a draw, if not more, but when it gets that late, you do wonder,” Given says.