Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland moved to within a point of their manager’s native Italy at the top of World Cup qualifying Group Eight on Saturday evening.
The Irish remain in second place after a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria in Sofia, a result that seriously damages the home side’s chances of reaching South Africa, though they do still have a game in hand on The Boys in Green.
Richard Dunne headed Trapattoni’s men in front midway through the first half, but just a few minutes later Dimitar Telkiyski profited from poor defending from the Irish to level matters.
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Also in Group Eight, Ireland’s old aggressors Cyprus were held to a 2-2 draw on their own patch by Montenegro.
The Mediterranean outfit still had hopes of breaking into the qualification places when the night’s action kicked off, but Dejan Damjanovic’s second-half brace has ended any viable hope of that.
The hosts found themselves in front just 14 minutes in thanks to a goal from Konstantinos Makridis and they doubled that lead just before half-time as Chrysostomos Mihail fired home from the penalty spot.
However, Montenegro hit back in the second half. It was 20 minutes old when Damjanovic halved their arrears and he netted again 14 minutes later to secure Montenegro’s fourth point of the campaign and keep them just one point behind the Cypriots.