balls.ie – For a little rock situated on the westernmost point of Europe, Ireland has certainly punched above its weight when it comes to sport. Far from being ‘the little soccer nation that could’, the Irish team has experienced its share of successes and failures but one attribute which has united Irish football over the years has been their bare-faced inability to lay down for their opponents.

Here are five times the Irish team refused to compromise.

It was 110 degrees inside the Citrus Bowl in Orlando but, for a few minutes at least, temperatures were considerably hotter on the touchline. Trailing 2-0 to Mexico in the final minutes of their World Cup group E game, Jack Charlton’s Ireland were in need of a goal – and quick.