Staunton and Green Army left red-faced

STEVE STAUNTON’S brave new world crumbled under the weight of abject humiliation as the Republic of Ireland suffered one of the worst defeats in their history.

Any hope Staunton and Ireland had of qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals has now been shot to pieces after just two games, and in particular on the back of this shambolic showing.

Not only did they concede five goals to a Cypriot team ranked 60 places below them in the FIFA world rankings, but to add to their night of unbridled misery, Richard Dunne was dismissed late on.