Three words: Keep. The. Faith.
Before a ball had been kicked in the Aviva tonight, a fantastic tribute was paid to a man who had watched the boys in green hundreds of times and how proud he would have been with the performance tonight so far…
Fantastic tribute to the brilliant #jimmymcgee at #IREvMOL C'mon IRELAND, nothing less than 3 pts pic.twitter.com/eEn7OfqTGV
— OscarStone (@setantaspup) October 6, 2017
Amazing tribute to the Legend that was Jimmy McGee at the Aviva!! Now it's time to make him proud #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/N7E92P5ZMt
— Andrew Doyle (@judgeapd) October 6, 2017
We had barely even sat in our respective seats when Daryl Murphy hit the back of the net just shy of the two-minute mark.
It wasn’t pretty but we don’t want pretty, we want goals, we want a win and we want World Cup qualification. Throw-in into the box, little flick on, swivel and back of the net.
Are we dreaming? If so, please leave us be…
Early strike. Daryl Murphy's second goal for Ireland makes it 1-0 after a minute pic.twitter.com/rns6G12Vob
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/ajpreilly/status/916375000906633217
Ireland has more goals than I have empty beer bottles. I’ve got some work to do. #IREvMOL
— Gorilla Talk (@AtlGorillaTalk) October 6, 2017
Now to watch Ireland awkwardly defend a 1-0 lead for the next hour and half, aka our historically most dangerous position #IREvMOL pic.twitter.com/ayHn7M58dx
— bene jesuit 🇵🇸 (@fIamingmoe) October 6, 2017
Shane Long nearly added another on the 15th-minute mark. A lovely piece of play between Hoolahan and O’Dowda who squared the ball into the box for Shane Long.
We jumped up, oh how we jumped up but sadly, it clipped off the wrong side of the post…
O'Dowda and Hoolahan linking very nicely here #IREvMOL
— David Gorman (@DavidGorman20) October 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/MoranPaul52/status/916377986538012673
What a move that was! But long has gotta be scoring there! #IREvMOL #coybig
— sam irwin (@irwinofficalft) October 6, 2017
And while we were all still cursing our luck that Long’s shot had narrowly missed the target, Murphy got his and Ireland’s second with a header.
O’Dowda was involved again, playing the ball to Hoolahan who picked out Ward on the left-hand side of the pitch. Ward’s cross plonked perfectly on the head of Murphy who directed it back to where it came from.
2-0, 20-minutes gone…
After an excellent move Daryl Murphy gets his second of the evening with a sublime finish pic.twitter.com/XqCSjFFsuc
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/Tiananmens/status/916379106459168773
Murphy for president #IREvMOL
— Simply Gerry (@gerryc369) October 6, 2017
Best goal of our entire World Cup campaign so far?? #COYBIG #IREvMOL
— Rory McEvoy (@rorymcevoy) October 6, 2017
On another night, Moldova’s Plătică’s long-range effort flys into the top corner but not tonight. Darren Randolph somehow manages to divert the shot, that was destined for the net, over the bar with his fingertips.
https://twitter.com/VanessaNoone/status/916380777599954944
That save by Randolph 👏👏#IREvMOL
— ian yeates (@yeatesy87) October 6, 2017
What a save. Irish team are lit #IREvMOL
— Evan Meade (@MeadeEvan) October 6, 2017
We’re not quite sure why this was relevant after Randolph had just pulled off the save of his life but…
https://twitter.com/kellyoneill90/status/916380776668848129
Basically, this is how we all feel after that first half performance…
While I'm not one for getting carried away, we'll definitely win the #WorldCup. If we qualify… #IREvMOL #COYBIG #RTEsoccer
— John O' Donoghue (@jodonoghue1983) October 6, 2017
