It was more Vanilla Ice than the Wolfe Tones at the Aviva on Tuesday night

It was more Vanilla Ice than the Wolfe Tones at the Aviva on Tuesday night, settled as it was by a one-hit wonder from blonde-haired, blue-eyed Hordur Magnusson.

The Bristol City full-back's free kick from 20 yards, clipped over the wall and aided by Conor Hourihane ducking out its path – was the one moment of real quality in a drab encounter.

The clash of two of Ireland and Iceland, two unanticipated success stories from the European Championships of last summer, had the potential for real entertainment but never even got going.

With both sides much-changed following their exertions in World Cup qualifying on the weekend – just five players started both games across the two teams – it felt like a game neither side wanted.

The press box at the Aviva Stadium was unexpectedly without internet for a large proportion of the assembled media, which was fortunate as the game produced little worth telling the world about.

There was as much surprise as delight amongst the away support – a sizeable contingent to have made the trip – when Magnusson dinked his free kick into the bottom corner of Keiren Westwood's net.

Until that point, a goal appeared the remotest possibility, and neither side looked like adding any further goals to the tally during the arduous 70 minutes that remained in the match.

The Icelanders were without Swansea City midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson following his brace in Friday's closely-fought World Cup qualifying win over Kosovo.

And much like Wales without their talisman Gareth Bale, Iceland are a vastly-diminished side without the one player who possesses the capability to scare opposition defences at this level.

It wasn't just the absence of Sigurdsson – goalkeeper Hannes Haldorsson and midfielders Kari Arnason, Bjorn Sigurdarsson Birkir Bjarnason were all absent with leave.

Ireland, likewise, scarcely resembled the side that had bumbled their way to a point on Friday, let alone the assured outfit that threatened to dump hosts France out of their own tournament in June.

For all the energy, intensity and no small amount of quality both sides displayed in France, this game was the polar opposite as the tempo rarely lifted above a snail's pace.

Both sides lined up in an orthodox 4-4-2, with Iceland's marginally the more offensive with both full-backs spending regular time in the opposition, but long ball was the default option for both.

Defences, as would be expected, dealt comfortably with the rudimentary tactics, with Ireland debutant John Egan attacking every long ball with gusto despite sporting a bandage on his head owing to an early clash of heads.

It was Egan who was caught out, however, the rare time Iceland varied their attack as he allowed himself to be turned by Kjartan Finnbogason and, were it a competitive game, would have expected more than just the yellow card dished out by the referee.

So there was a measure of justice when Magnusson took the opportunity to open the scoring, albeit with considerable help from Ireland's decidedly unwall-like wall.

Aiden McGeady looked threatening early on as he found some joy up against the attack-minded Magnusson but with the rest of the midfield static, he soon found himself taking the ball on the backfoot.

Up front, Kevin Doyle looked rusty, having not played at this level since this time last year, and was caught poorly offside in the first half to shut down rare attacks.

James McClean looked uncomfortable in an unfamiliar position beside him up front, and it was only when wholesale changes were made in midfield that either began to impact the game.

Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle, the former Dundalk pair, were introduced to bring the debutants count to four, while Stephen Gleeson was brought in alongside Eunan O'Kane to win his third cap, almost ten years since his second.

All of a sudden, Horgan found more joy down the right and had crosses off both feet that a more settled strikeforce may have done more with.

McGeady's replacement, Callum O'Dowda, was impressive too in his 20 minutes, and one run infield could have produced more than the corner that transpired.

These were fleeting moments, however, and it was fitting that the more rudimentary long throw that produced Ireland's only clear chance of the game in injury time.

Boyle's flick-on didn't have enough on it to trouble goalkeeper Ogmudur Kristinsson, though, which summed up the home side's efforts on the night.