If you're not one of the traditional powers in European football, nights like last night don't come around all too often, so let's enjoy this Euro 2016 qualification feat for some time yet.
But of course, the time will come when we will cease to look back on the playoffs and start building up to the tournament proper and one of the key things that will crop up is what we learn from the mistakes of four years ago.
Lest we forget - and we won't - Euro 2012 was a crushing disappointment of a tournament from our point of view - albeit we are unlikely to end up in as tough a group as that time, when we faced eventual champions Spain, runners-up Italy and a top tier Croatia side.
But there were mistakes made by Giovanni Trapattoni and his coaching team as former Ireland attacking midfielder Andy Reid emphasised on Off The Ball last night: "In the last tournament, for a lot of reasons, the team wasn't competitive. So I think if we can put together a side and formations and put together some good tactics, with the players that we've got, then we can be competitive".
Reid touched on some important points there, so let's expand on them.
Have a Plan B
Trap's reign relied on a solid 4-4-2 with two hard-working midfielders in Keith Andrews and Glenn Whelan which provided stability in the qualifying groups for World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012, but proved to be wholly unsuited to the latter tournament proper.
But despite the fact that Plan A was shown up as early as the opening loss to Croatia, Trap did not make any changes and stuck to his tried and increasingly distrusted game-plan for the entire group stage.
Even if the direct approach does often bear similarities, different formations have been used by Martin O'Neill during the Euro 2016 campaign with varying degrees of effectiveness.
Players like Robbie Brady, Wes Hoolahan and Jeff Hendrick give greater flexibility and an ability to play three-man central midfield formations, while James McCarthy's potential to play as a sole defensive midfielder is another boon.
Part of Trap's problem was an inability to trust the abilities of the players at his disposal. Granted, the current generation of players do not fit into the world class bracket, but nonetheless are capable of rousing performances when their potential is unlocked and we lose nothing by trusting.
James McClean and manager Giovanni Trapattoni at Euro 2012 ©INPHO/James Crombie
Picking the players in form
For the most part, Trap picked his 23-man squad for Euro 2012 from the pool of players that helped deliver qualification, ignoring young Premier League talents like Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy (there were mitigating circumstances in his case), who could have brought a freshness to the panel.
James McClean did eventually make it in, but only as a substitute in the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain after clamour from fans for his inclusion.
Of course, subsequent showings from McClean in the intervening years have quelled that clamour in his case, but the age profile is worth keeping an eye on. In the last Euros, he was the only player aged 23 or under in a squad which featured eight players 30 and over.
But if there are players in excellent form at club level - be they established squad members or not - those type of late bolters can add an extra ingredient to the mix.
Keeping build-up fresh
This is a passage from a brilliantly insightful column from Stephen Hunt on his Euro 2012 experience:
"WHEN I am old and grey and weary I would like to retire to Montecatini. Then I might see what Giovanni Trapattoni saw in the place because from the moment we arrived there to begin our build-up to the European Championships, it was clear that time was going to drag.
It might have dragged anyway. One problem with the European Championships was something we could do nothing about. By the time the summer came around, Trap had been manager for four years. We knew everything about him and he knew everything about us, or he had an idea of what we could do and couldn't do and he wouldn't budge from it.
We knew what the training sessions would be and we knew what they wouldn't be. Trap never budged, things never changed. It was like it was a badge of honour with him, part of his value system that players would adapt and never complain. To be bored was almost a sin but somebody once said that half the problems in the world were caused by boredom."
The lesson there is to avoid monotony in the training camp and build-up to the tournament, something which Hunt clearly illustrates here. A base level of motivation will be at the heart of every player in the squad, so adding elements and activities that boost the enjoyment levels in the weeks leading up to the opening game and in-between days will be of benefit.
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