Despite Shane Duffy’s early goal, Ireland were unable to hold on to a lead in Tbilisi for very long.
Ireland sat back weakly after taking the lead in the third minute and were duly punished by a Georgia side made to look far better than they were by a lacklustre Ireland.
Neat passing play saw the Irish defence carved open for Qazaishvili to level things up ahead of the break, amidst a spell of Georgian pressure.
Ireland didn’t fare all that much better in the second half, challenging the Georgian keeper on only a handful of occasions. The introduction of Aiden McGeady saw Ireland add some pace to their game but in the end it mattered little.
James McClean should have buried a late chance after being set-up by Shane Long but a heavy touch took the ball away from him and sealed Ireland’s fate.
Here’s how Irish fans on Twitter reacted to Ireland’s wasted opportunity for three points:
Ireland might need to rethink their tactics #GEOIRE pic.twitter.com/tCNgCZElSI
— Robert Redmond (@RobRedmond10) September 2, 2017
Only way it could get harder to watch is if the woman from late night tv showed up to sign language in the bottom corner #GEOIRL #COYBIG
— John O' Donoghue (@jodonoghue1983) September 2, 2017
To have your most creative player sitting on the bench with 5 mins to go is disgraceful #COYBIG #GEOvIRE #RTEsoccer
— Michael Kennedy (@m86kennedy) September 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/16roykeano/status/904037702005383168
Ireland v Georgia probably the worst thing I've seen on TV and that includes the ending of Lost and the film the happening #COYBIG
— John Egan (@Kildarejohn) September 2, 2017
FUCK IT #COYBIG
— Mark (@ATrueCule) September 2, 2017
The result leaves Ireland needing a win over Serbia in the Aviva next week. Ireland’s closest rivals opened the gap to 2 points with a win over Moldova today.
