Ireland survived plenty of scares and produced one moment of magic to give all Irish fans something to shout about this evening at the Aviva Stadium, as they beat Germany 1-0.
Although the scoreboard read 0-0 as the referee blew his whistle for half time, Ireland would have considered themselves very lucky not to have been behind by that point.
Thomas Muller broke through the middle with less than a minute gone, but uncharacteristically put his chance over the bar, setting the tone for what was to follow for the next 45 minutes. A few minutes later, Mesut Ozil had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside, with a tight decision going in favour of Martin O'Neill's men.
Germany threatened Shay Given's goal again and again in the first half, which seemed to be leading a bit of a charmed life.
We might have gotten away with one there... #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/tVPGCHueis
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) October 8, 2015
There was little in the way of attacking prowess from Ireland in that opening period, as they had to withstand wave after wave of German attacks.
Shortly before the break, Given pulled up injured and was replaced by Darren Randolph, but the Germans were also forced to make a substitution after Mario Gotze similarly found himself in difficulty.
In the second half, Germany came out of the blocks firing again as they put Ireland’s goal under pressure straight from the off, but once again failed to find the back of Randolph's net.
As the half wore on, Ireland managed to get a foothold in the game, making some tackles instead of simply chasing shadows, and taking the chance to give Manuel Neuer a few things to worry about.
Chances for either side were few and far between in this period, with a Daryl Murphy effort in the 64th minute being the only thing that got the crowd on their feet. It was a little bit further wide than it initially seemed, but there were signs of life about Ireland that made the fans get behind the team. That was to be Murphy's last contribution of the game, as he was replaced by Shane Long.
A few minutes later, those signs of life bore fruit as a long ball from goalkeeper Darren Randolph caught the German defence napping, and Long made absolutely no mistake with a brilliant touch and stunning finish that left Neuer with no chance. The roof absolutely blew off the stadium with that goal, as the Irish fans then got behind their team for a nerve-racking final few minutes.
Once again, Germany began to mount a number of attacks, but the edge to their attack had been dulled by the shock of the goal, and Ireland's defence proved up to the challenge. Robbie Brady, who had put in a monumental shift, went down with a case of cramp, but got back up to solider on.
When Ireland did eventually get out of their own area, they headed straight for the corner flag, frustrating Germany and seeing out the game until the final whistle, which brought about incredible scenes of celebration from players and fans alike.
The technical term for what we're witnessing is "absolute scenes" #IRLGER #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/61JmTL1O7M
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) October 8, 2015
While Martin O'Neill's men are not quite there yet, a number of good results coupled with this win may give the side momentum that they can carry into this weekend's game. However, unless the side can build on this result and qualify for the tournament, this result might not count for much.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
