Republic lead by two at break

Republic of Ireland 2-0 Cyprus

Clinton Morrison and Andy Reid gave the Republic of Ireland the perfect start to their World Cup qualifying campaign with deserved goals in a one-sided first half.

Everton's Kevin Kilbane was lucky not to be booked inside the opening two minutes after flooring Konstantinos Makridis with a late challenge, instead being given a stern rebuke from Georgian referee Levan Paniashvili.

The indication from the early exchanges was that no quarter would be given.

Another lecture followed 90 seconds later for Marinos Satsias for his tackle on Damien Duff, the winger being watched from the stands by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

It was a Duff cross in the eighth minute that gave Ireland their first chance as it resulted in Morrison being felled on the edge of the area by Lambros Lambrou, who also earned the first yellow card of the game.

But from the free-kick inside the D, and with an opportunity to equal Niall Quinn’s 21-goal record for the Republic, Keane’s right-footed shot was poor as it clipped the top of the wall before being comfortably cleared.

A set-piece from Reid four minutes later – awarded on the left flank after Georgios Theodotou had tugged Duff’s shirt – was more incisive.

When Morrison rose alone above a static defence, the goal beckoned, but his header was narrowly wide of the right post.

Kerr had stated before kick-off that he wanted fluidity and flexibility from his midfield, underlined in the 22nd minute when right-winger Reid delivered a curling cross from the left, with Morrison again the recipient, only for his diving header to fly into the arms of Nikos Panayiotou.

When Duff was felled again on the left, Konstantinos Charalambidis was awarded yellow, but the ensuing free-kick failed to find its mark.

It led to a Reid corner which eventually made its way to Manchester United left-back John O’Shea for an arrowing, angled drive from the corner of box which brought a clumsy, albeit effective save from Panayiotou.

A further corner followed, with the Reid-Morrison partnership coming close again.

Morrison’s downward header caught the side-netting after taking a slight deflection off Elias Charalambous for a further corner which came to nothing.

With Ireland dominating, Duff turned supplier on the half hour with a teasing cross to the far post for the awaiting Keane, but his miscued attempt at a volley drew groans rather than the expectant cheers.

When Kilbane struck the legs of Panayiotou with a close-range volley seconds later, as he latched onto a nicely-weighted free-kick from Kavanagh, it appeared as if it was going to be one of those frustrating days.

But the goal the Irish deserved finally arrived in the 32nd minute, with Morrison gaining his personal just reward with a glancing header from Duff’s left-wing cross, ending a year-long goal drought at international level – or 777 minutes of action.

The pressure was off, and if there had been a roof on Lansdowne Road, that would have followed five minutes later when Reid scored in his second successive game for the Republic, rifling a stunning 25-yard left-foot curler into the top right-hand corner.