Cyprus 1 Republic of Ireland 0: Ireland now almost certainly have to beat Russia in Limassol tomorrow if they are to get through to the second phase of the qualifiers after this most unsatisfactory display against the hosts in Larnaca.
Far from dispirited following their 5-1 defeat to Russia in their opening game on Monday, Cyprus came out to play and stunned Ireland to take a 12th-minute lead, an advantage they held to the end, courtesy of some inept Irish approach play and finishing.
Darren Randolph tipped over a 25-yard shot from the impressive Nikolas Manoli. From the resultant corner Menelaos Aristidou had a shot blocked, but the ball ran into the path of Christodoulos Kosma whose shot had clearly gone over the line before it was hacked away.
Despite dominating possession throughout the second half, Ireland didn't press the Cypriots until the last few minutes when John Paul Kelly brought a good stop from Nikolas Asprogenous and Paul McShane headed over the bar when he knows he should have scored.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Randolph (Charlton); Keane (Luton), O'Dea (Celtic), McShane (Man Utd), Painter (Birmingham); Wilson (Portsmouth), O'Brien (Bolton), Cregg (Arsenal), Morris (Leeds); Hayes (Reading), Keogh (Scunthorpe). Subs: Kelly (Liverpool) for Morris (44 mins), Collins (Huddersfield) for Wilson (77 mins).
Referee: J Megyeriro (Hungary).
