WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING Georgia 1 Republic of Ireland 2:MOST LIKELY, it will be remembered by the couple of thousand Irish fans present more for the novelty factor of the neutral venue than the glorious manner of the win.
If a reminder was really needed, though, then Bulgaria's draw in Montenegro highlighted just how easily this might have gone wrong and at the end the players and those who had travelled to support them looked delighted with the outcome.
When Kevin Doyle scored in the opening minutes it briefly seemed that Giovanni Trapattoni's first competitive game might involve that most precious of entities - a comfortable Irish away win. But as it turned out the Georgians amongst the crowd of 4,500 were given some cause to believe their side might salvage something from the contest until the 70th minute when their 21-year-old goalkeeper, Giorgi Loria, made a terrible mess of gathering a speculative long-range strike by Glenn Whelan.
To be fair, Ireland were the better of the two sides by a significant margin over the course of the 90 minutes but there were one or two moments when Trapattoni's men had to wing it a little, so the second goal came as a relief.
The only serious blemish on the night then, was the goal conceded in the 91st minute when the Irish back four dropped their guard and Levan Kenia stole in to score. The players are unlikely to enjoy reviewing the way David Siradze and Levan Mchedlidze were allowed to work the ball in from the right with their veteran coach but the 17-year-old Schalke 04 midfielder did finish well and though Paul McShane got his head to the ball he really couldn't have been expected to keep it out.
Disappointing as it was, the goal counted for little, although it would have been a different story had Alexander Iashvili done better with the free header he had been allowed from Kenia's corner before the interval, or Richard Dunne not blocked a close range shot by Zurab Khizanishvili after having initially allowed Kenia's floated free to reach the Blackburn defender at the far post.
Overall, however, the game contained many more positives for the Irish than negatives, with the central midfield partnership of Whelan and Steven Reid again proving a success, Doyle getting his first international goal in a year and the defence looking impressive, at least until there was too little time for the Georgians to avoid defeat.
Another source of encouragement was the evidence that the Irish are becoming more effective at retaining possession and both goals came at the end of good passing moves. Doyle's followed neat work out on the right by Reid and Robbie Keane before the skipper released Aiden McGeady into the box and the Celtic winger put in a fine cross. In the centre, Doyle had cleverly left a ponderous Kakha Kaladze in no man's land and the Reading striker's header was perfectly placed beyond the reach of the young goalkeeper.
Whelan's effort may have involved a serious error by Loria at the end but the build-up was particularly impressive, with Steve Finnan winning possession in the air at the back and feeding Doyle. The striker knocked it short to McGeady, who launched a long, angled cross field ball towards Keane. Reid and Kevin Kilbane both chipped in before Whelan was handed the chance of bagging his first international goal.
The midfielder looked at least as surprised as he was delighted when the ball skimmed the goalkeeper's thigh and bounced in, but it was a richly deserved reward for a great night's work by the 24-year-old, who tidily gathered and passed on possession from a slightly deeper position than Reid.
Still, the Blackburn midfielder more than held his own in terms of the partnership. Two injury-ravaged years on from the night in Stuttgart when Steve Staunton made it clear he wanted Reid to anchor his midfield, the 26-year-old really looks like a player who is finally ready to deliver on his much-anticipated promise.
Here, we saw the full range of his talents. He tackled well, rarely put a pass astray and would have had a goal from a fiercely struck free had it not been for a decent save from Loria. Assuming he was looking, Staunton must have wondered if things might have worked out a little differently had the midfielder been available through the rest of the last campaign.
Trapattoni, on the other hand, must be a little concerned that neither McGeady nor Stephen Hunt managed to generate much by way of a threat out wide. The coach is investing heavily in his wingers and a great deal depends on the width they provide paying some sort of dividend. On this occasion, though, the pair repeatedly tried but failed to beat their man and the only consolation was both worked hard, with the Celtic player clearly responding to the Italian's efforts to have him lend more of a hand in defence when possession was lost.
All told, it was a solid rather than sensational start to the serious phase of the new coach's reign and there are clearly tougher days ahead. For all that, though, there were welcome signs that, despite his occasional problem with communications, Trapattoni's message really might be starting to get through.
GEORGIA: Loria (Dinamo Tbilisi); Lobjanidze (Zestafoni), Khizanishvili (Blackburn Rovers), Kaladze (Milan), Shashiashvili (Sturm Graz); Odikadze (Dinamo Tbilisi), Menteshashvili (Ventspils), Kobiashvili (Schalke 04); Kenia (Schalke 04), Iashvili (Karlsruhe); Aleksidze (Lokomotiv Tbilisi). Subs: Siradze (Spartak Nalchik) for Aleksidze (61 mins), Mchedildze (Palermo) for Iashvili (79 mins), Asatiani (Lokomotiv Moscow) for Khizanishvili (83 mins).
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle United); Finnan (Espanyol), O'Shea (Manchester United), Dunne (Manchester City), Kilbane (Wigan Athletic); Hunt (Reading), Whelan (Stoke City), S Reid (Blackburn Rovers), McGeady (Celtic); Doyle (Reading), Keane (Liverpool). Subs: Miller (Sunderland) for Doyle (79 mins), McShane (Sunderland) for Finnan (80 mins), Keogh (Wolverhampton Wanderers) for McGeady (87 mins).
Referee: Zsolt Szabo(Hungary).
