The fanzine handed out by local supporters on the streets outside Windsor Park may have described last night's visitors to Belfast as whipping boys but the authors had the good sense to point out that that meant little enough when it came to their boys.

"Remember Latvia, Armenia, Lithuania . . . ," started the caution to their readers. Next time they can add the name of Moldova to the list of nations that have humbled the Irish in competitive games.

What was worse about last night's performance was the fact that Lawrie McMenemy's side had started reasonably well, had enough possession over the 90 minutes to win easily and played, for the last 25 minutes against 10 men after Alexandru Curtianu, the Moldovan singled out by the visiting coach recently as his key player, had been sent off.

The locals trailed at the break but when Ian Dowie equalised shortly after the restart it looked as though Northern Ireland might put their early difficulties behind them and take control of a game that had until then looked a fairly even match between two desperately limited teams.

Through the opening minutes Northern Ireland had comfortably looked to have the beating of their visitors. The Moldovans looked shaky at the back and pretty awful when attempting to play their way out. Still they opened the scoring after 23 minutes when Vladimir Gaidamasciuc capitalised on the chaos that reigned in the middle of the other penalty area after Curtianu's throw-in from the left had been flicked on.

The goal itself was a setback for the North and a huge boost to the Moldovans' confidence. Through the last 20 minutes of the half they gradually started to look far more comfortable on the ball and with 26-year-old striker Serghei Clescenco looking dangerous, they looked as if they could earn a surprise win.

Briefly, Dowie's goal seemed to end to the possibility of the hosts suffering a complete humiliation. And with Keith Gillespie's pace and crossing ability causing problems down the right-hand side the prospect of a second goal breathed a bit of life into the 11,000-strong crowd whose loudest contribution until then had been the boos that had greeted the visitors as they came out for the second half.

However, despite the frailties of the Moldovan defence the North continued to find it difficult to create clearcut chances around the centre of the box. Dowie, to his credit, threw himself about to considerable effect. But his striking partner, Michael Hughes, showed the lack of sharpness that was perhaps only to be expected from a player who struggles to train between games at the moment, and plenty of loose balls hopped harmlessly out of the danger zone.

At the other end the visitors weren't threatening nearly as often as they had done before the break but still they occasionally showed themselves to be capable of moving the ball in the right direction at some speed.

Given the already established ability of the Irish defence to look as inept as their counterparts, merely getting the ball into the general area of their opposition's goal looked a promising tactic for Ivan Daniliants' side.

Anything, it seemed, could happen for them once they got it there and, sure enough, they scored just before the hour was up when Ion Tistimetanu punished some appalling marking, this time with a firmly struck 15-yard shot that left the approaching Alan Fettis little chance of saving.

Peter Kennedy quickly made amends for his part in the opening goal when he provided the cross that allowed Neil Lennon to pull the home side level again six minutes later. Even with Curtianu having departed for a second bookable offence, though, Phil Gray on up front and Hughes restored to his more effective role out on the wing, the Irish could come no closer to managing a winner than forcing the odd scramble around their opponents' six-yard box.

As the team turned for the dressing-room as the final whistle sounded, their dream of topping their group over the Christmas was dead and the reality, that they will now have to perform their usual trick of upsetting the Germans when they visit in March, was beginning to sink in.

McMenemy said afterwards: "My initial feeling is one of disappointment, of course, but we still came from behind twice which is difficult at this level and so I have to be pleased about that.

"There were stages when we had the passion and they had the pace and they hurt us with their movement. The goals were particularly disappointing because they were the sort of goals they scored against Finland and we had worked on defending exactly those types of situations.

"I'm still hopeful, though. There are five games to go and nobody can deny that we're still in it. The only pity is that the three points would have kept us smiling through to March."

Northern Ireland: Fettis (Blackburn Rovers); Griffin (St Johnstone), Patterson (Dundee Utd), Morrow (QPR), Kennedy (Watford); Gillespie (Newcastle Utd), Lomas (West Ham), Lennon (Leicester City), Rowland (QPR); Dowie (QPR), Hughes (Wimbledon). Subs: Gray (Luton Town) for Rowland (78 mins), McCarthy (Birmingham City) for Gillespie (87 mins).

Moldova: Dinov; Tistimetanu, Stroienco, Fistican; Gaidamasciuc, Rabeja, Guzun, Epureanu, Stratulat; Clescenco, Curtianu. Subs: Suharev for Stratulat (62 mins), Pusca for Guzun (66 mins).

Referee: Vladimir Hrinak (Slovakia).