Blues strikers Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick were in action for the Republic of Ireland in a behind-closed-doors training game against Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon, the match ending in a 0-0 draw.
Manager Martin O’Neill fielded entirely different teams in either half - the Blues strikers both started - and felt the match was a worthwhile exercise.
"It was more than useful, it was very good, particularly for some of the players who had not played for quite some considerable time,” he told FAI TV.
Regarding the Blues strikers, he added: "Daryl Murphy has had a really great season for Ipswich. It was nice, he partnered David McGoldrick, who has had very, very little football in the last four months, so all of those type of things were pleasing for us.”
Ireland face England in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday and Scotland in a Euro 2016 qualifier at the same venue on Saturday 13th June.
Murphy, 32, will be looking to add to his 14 caps and to score his first international goal, while McGoldrick, 27, has previously been capped once and will also be looking to open his goals account.
The pair could face their Blues team-mate Christophe Berra in the Scotland game, the centre-half having been named in Gordon Strachan's squad.
As a result of their international involvement, the trio will miss the start of pre-season training which begins in the final week of June.