Tbilisi terror McGeady saves the best for last

Georgia 1 Republic of Ireland 2: Well, we learned one thing from a long, hot night in Georgia — Martin O’Neill is good for Aiden McGeady and Aiden McGeady is certainly good for Martin O’Neill.

The old Celtic mutual appreciation society reconvened in ultimately glorious fashion in Tbilisi, just when Ireland looked like they were about to surrender two points after McGeady had given them an early lead.

But, eclipsing even Georgia’s fine equaliser, the visitors’ most impressive performer on the night finally produced a moment of winning magic right on the stroke of full-time, bamboozling his marker with an audacious trick on the edge of the box, before hitting the sweetest of rising left-foot shots to the back of the net.