The first period suggested the Republic of Ireland had no business among the continent’s elite but a second-half transformation and a precious goal from Jonathan Walters edged them closer to Euro 2016. Jeff Hendrick contributed an assist that would grace any showpiece.
Martin O’Neill’s men sit third in Group D, four points above Scotland with two matches left, despite having a worse record in the games between the two teams. There is work to be done to secure a play-off spot but positive results against Germany and Poland could even elevate them into the automatic qualifying positions.
O’Neill is not counting chickens. “We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said. “We’ve opened up a bit of the gap but the head-to-head [against Scotland] could still come into play. It’s still in our own hands but we have two incredibly difficult games coming up. We’re against the world champions next – we might as well have a go – and we have to find a win from at least one of the matches. We will naturally have to do better for 90 minutes.”
Drastically different halves have been a recurring feature of this Irish campaign. Here they made a sloppy and strangely sluggish start. Two wild passes from Robbie Brady in the first three minutes plunged the hosts into trouble and betrayed their nerves.
Robbie Keane could have calmed them in the sixth minute but slashed a bouncing ball over the bar. Georgian players had spoken beforehand of presenting their manager, Kakhaber Tskhadadze, with a performance to celebrate his 47th birthday and perhaps even negate the value of the gift they had given the Irish last Friday, when their win against Scotland infused O’Neill’s side with fresh hope. Here, unburdened by expectation, the visitors should have compounded home jitters in the 11th minute but Levan Mchedlidze finished weakly after being sent clear following nimble interplay in midfield. It was a bad miss but Georgia were looking slicker and shrewder. Tornike Okriashvili sent an overhead kick wide in the 24th minute. Ireland barely summoned bluster.
“We were very tentative in the first half, I’m not sure why,” said O’Neill. “Maybe it was expectation. We lacked energy and created very little. That was a bit of a worry but the players came very strong in the second half.”
O’Neill replaced Keane with the more forceful Shane Long during the break. Ireland restarted on the front foot and Seamus Coleman, impressing on his return from injury after missing Friday’s win against Gibraltar, twice went close. Nukri Revishvili then blocked a long-range effort from Glen Whelan. Ireland were improving, Georgia retreating.
Revishvili had to make improvised saves on the hour, first from a deflected shot by Hendrick, then from a Walters header. James McCarthy, so often berated for his reluctance to go forward, ventured into the penalty area in the 63rd minute but blazed over from 15 yards.
Then Hendrick showed McCarthy how to raid from midfield with skill and incision. The Derby County player dashed between two defenders on the left before eluding a third with a subtle feint and serving up a perfect low ball across the face of goal. Walters applied the finish from two yards. Cue an explosion of joy and relief.
Long should have soothed doubts about the result but, showing why Keane is still regularly preferred to him, failed to find a sure touch from close range after expert service from James McClean, who was himself denied by a great save in stoppage time. No matter, Ireland had done enough.
