Group D/ Rep of Ireland 0 Germany  0: It had been a recurring theme in Steve Staunton's public utterances over the past year that while the media may be on his back, the ordinary supporter remains behind him.

After Saturday night in Croke Park, where mention of his name at half-time in connection with a trivia question prompted loud booing by a large portion of the crowd and nothing by way of reply from the rest, it seems safe to assume that even he now realises that the punters, like the pundits, are in need of winning over.

This performance against the Germans should have gone some small way toward silencing his critics but the almost eerie silence that greeted the final whistle left the impression that the crowd departed more disappointed that a strong second-half performance by the home side hadn't yielded a win than impressed by the fact that the Irish had done comfortably more than hold their own over those last 45 minutes.

Neither Staunton nor his side emerged from the proceedings free of black marks. The manager's decision to play Andy Keogh on the right side of midfield was a brave one, which may well have prompted Joachim Loew and Oliver Bierhoff to crank up the German team laptop down in the dressing-room prior to kick-off so as to run the 21-year-old's name through Wikipedia.

It never really paid off for the Louthman, however, with the young Wolves player doing nothing wrong over the course of the 80 minutes he stayed on the pitch but failing to do anything particularly impressive either.

Among the players, the negatives were largely outweighed by the positives. Joey O'Brien, an enforced selection in the unfamiliar position of centre back, looked understandably uncomfortable alongside Richard Dunne early on but then settled well to have a generally good game. Dunne was again impressive even though he needlessly picked up a second-half booking that will keep him out of Wednesday's game against Cyprus, while Robbie Keane looked lively only to squander a wonderful chance to earn all three points for the home side.

In the end a draw was a fair result. Germany had the better of a scrappy and shapeless first period thanks largely to their vastly superior strength but the Irish easily had the better of things after the break thanks to a combination of energy and ingenuity even if there was the strong suspicion that the visitors were not over-exerting themselves.

Twice in the first half Mario Gomez threatened to get onto the end of Marcell Jansen crosses to put his side in front but first Dunne and then Stephen Kelly did well to prevent the Stuttgart striker applying the required finish.

Kelly had his best international game at left back by quite some distance while the team drew considerable benefit from the return of Steve Finnan to his natural slot on the right-hand side of the back four.

In front of them Lee Carsley took some time to get going before imposing himself effectively on the proceedings, while Kevin Kilbane, once again, displayed heroic industry down the left flank.

Alongside Carsley, Andy Reid was the star of show. The Charlton midfielder's spirit of enterprise threw up a handful of poorly placed or ill-judged passes over the 90 minutes, but for every mistake there were a number of fine balls, short and long, and clever shifts in pace or direction with which he opened up the pitch for the home side and, particularly in the second half, enabled them to take the game to their opponents.

With Keogh hugging the line out on the right flank and the Germans looking largely happy to let him do it unmarked, Reid repeatedly picked out the stand-in right-side midfielder - who had started in this position against Ecuador during the summer - with lofted, angled balls that provided one chance after another for the young Irishman to run at Piotr Trochowski and Marcell Jansen.

It was hard from early on, however, to avoid the conclusion that Keogh, at this early stage of his career at least, had neither the ability nor the confidence in his own ability to go past the pair, and even on the couple of occasions he did manage it, late on before being replaced, he proved incapable of delivering a decent cross.

On the other side Kilbane managed only a couple of long, looping crosses while Torsten was instrumental in putting an end to most of Ireland's attempts to play Keane and Kevin Doyle in through the centre.

A rare exception came after just half an hour when Kelly fed Reid, whose first-time ball sent the Irish skipper racing clear. His first touch sent him wide into the box, though, and Jens Lehmann did well to narrow the angle and then save with his legs.

However, during the home team's best spell of the game, the opening third of the second half, the Republic's leading scorer should really have added to his tally. Reid's corner from the left was hoofed away only for Kelly to head the clearance back over the German back four. Keane found himself with time and space while Lehmann stood stranded, but believing himself to have been offside, he hesitated in attempting the lob and his effort was feeble.

At the other end, the visitors' best chance had also come from a corner, Christoph Metzelder's header being cleared off the line at the far post by Finnan 10 minutes before the break while Frings's one shot of note not long after was hit straight at Shay Given.

The arrival of Lukas Podolski a little over an hour in added urgency to the German attack even if they were now having to defend more and the Bayern Munich striker's best attempt on goal, a swerving shot from outside the box, drew a fine save from the Irish keeper.

Shane Long's introduction had a similar effect on the home side and, likewise, he forced Lehmann, who had already done well to push a Carsley effort over, into a decent stop.

A period of sustained pressure in the closing minutes then threatened, more than once, to yield a scrambled Irish winner but it never came and so the Germans secure qualification for next year's European Championships while their hosts take some credit with them into a game on Wednesday when the combination of a point and a respectable performance will certainly not be viewed as good enough.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); Finnan (Liverpool), J O'Brien (Bolton Wanderers), Dunne (Manchester City), Kelly (Birmingham City); Keogh (Wolves), A Reid (Charlton Athletic), Carsley (Everton), Kilbane (Wigan Athletic); Keane (Tottenham), Doyle (Reading). Subs: Long (Reading) for Doyle (70 mins), McGeady (Celtic) for Keogh (80 mins), Murphy (Sunderland) for Kilbane (92 mins). Subs not used: Colgan, Miller, Bruce, Douglas. Booked: Carsley, Dunne.

GERMANY: Lehmann (Arsenal); Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Metzelder (Real Madrid), Jansen (Bayern Munich); Fritz (Werder Bremen), Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Frings (Werder Bremen), Trochowski (Hamburger SV); Gomez (VfB Stuttgart), Kuranyi (Schalke 04). Subs: Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen) for Schweinsteiger (18 mins), Podolski (Bayern Munich) for Gomez (64 mins), Castro (Bayer Leverkusen) for Trochowski (90 mins). Booked: Lehmann, Frings, Arne Friedrich.

Referee: Martin Hansson(Sweden).