Ireland deliver on McCarthy’s twin ambition

[team1]Ireland[/team1][score1]1[/score1][team2]Georgia[/team2][score2]0[/score2][/score]

Mick McCarthy had talked before this one about how his ambition was to win with style, and his team certainly delivered on both counts to the delight of the Aviva last night. A superb Conor Hourihane free-kick was ultimately the difference between the two sides but, while the narrowness of that advantage made for something of a nerve-jangling finish at times, there was still plenty to savour in an Irish performance which, in its best moments, was as inventive as it was intense and as composed as it was committed.