Lady Luck makes amends for Paris hurt

LET there be no more talk of Paris.

Whatever bad karma the gods wished on Ireland in Saint-Denis two years ago, it has been paid back in tidy little increments throughout a campaign which, post-Thierry Henry, has surely renewed the assertion that Giovanni Trapattoni is indeed a lucky manager.

Ireland have been dominated by Russia, Slovakia and Armenia for long periods — both home and away — during the course of Group B.