Poland 1Ireland 1

Celtic 2 Republic of Ireland XI 2: This was always going to be a day when the Brown name dominated Celtic Park yet a midfielder with a similarly sounding surname put his stamp on the occasion too.

Republic of Ireland winger Callum O'Dowda is set for a three-month spell on the sidelines.

He might not get to start in Copenhagen on Saturday but don’t rule out the possibility of Callum O’Dowda having a say in proceedings before the play-off against Denmark reaches its conclusion in Dublin next Tuesday night.

Darren Norris looks at how the Irish in England got on this weekend.

Ipswich may not always entertain but Mick McCarthy is invariably good value. He certainly was after Ipswich came from behind to beat Burton 2-1 on Saturday. 

Martin O’Neill has said he would be disappointed if James McClean was not feeling frustrated about his restricted game time at West Brom.

Job done, for now, Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland players turn their attention back to domestic matters for the next four weeks, all too aware of the need to impress with their clubs before the World Cup play-offs swing around.

Martin O’Neill had told us to keep the faith and events last night, in Dublin, Vienna, and elsewhere besides, will have secured no small number of converts as the Republic of Ireland push for Russia’s promised land.

Enda McEvoy reflects on how the game - and punditry - played out on TV.

Ireland 2 - Moldova 0: Job done, but a lot more to do.

Martin O’Neill was pleased with the Republic of Ireland’s performance but emphasised getting a win over Moldova was much more important ahead of Monday’s visit to Cardiff.

The Republic of Ireland registered an excepted victory over Moldova but much more importantly, delivered a morale-boosting performance ahead of Monday’s visit to Wales.

From supporting Ireland at Euro fanzones last summer to being part of the squad aiming for World Cup qualification, Callum O’Dowda has enjoyed quite a year.

While almost all of the pre-match focus zeroed in on the three men Martin O’Neill would be deploying in his retooled and reshaped rearguard, there wasn’t nearly as much thought given to who would line up in front of them.

It is probably the most celebrated tackle in Irish football history, the crunching challenge on Marc Overmars which dumped the Arsenal man on the turf, seemed to rattle the whole Dutch team and certainly set the tone for a battling performance which would eventually see a 10-man Ireland beat the Netherlands 1-0 in a crucial World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road in 2001.

Far from being out of World Cup contention by Christmas, as Martin O’Neill feared in the aftermath of the Euros, Ireland find themselves blazing a trail at the summit of Group D after four games.

As a footballer, Callum O’Dowda seems to take all the big tests in his graceful stride – whether that be moving from League 2 Oxford United to Bristol City in the Championship, getting his first senior cap on the eve of the Euros against Belarus in Cork or, just last month, making his competitive debut for Ireland when coming off the bench in the 3-1 win in Moldova.

Oxford boss Michael Appleton saluted a “magnificent” performance after Kemar Roofe sent Swansea tumbling out of the FA Cup.

Ireland maintained a 100% record in their Uefa U21 qualifiers last night as a pair of early goals killed off Andorra on their home patch.