Ireland thwarted by Ronaldo late show in World Cup qualifiers

Daire Walsh

Record-breaker Cristiano Ronaldo struck a brace of late goals for Portugal at Estádio Algarve in Faro this evening to cruelly deny the Republic of Ireland in Group A of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Thanks to John Egan’s opening period goal, Tallaght man Stephen Kenny looked set to claim his first competitive victory as senior international boss.

That was until Ronaldo (whose return to Manchester United was confirmed in the past few days) headed home in the final minutes of normal time.

This finish anointed him as the all-time top-scorer in international football, but there was enough time for the 36-year-old to seal all three points for his side with a 96th-minute bullet.

Despite the heartbreak of this defeat, it was a magnificent team display for Kenny’s men that offers considerable hope for the future.

Firhouse native Gavin Bazunu was given the nod between the sticks for this game and had an eventful opening to a fiery contest.

Ronaldo’s new club-mate Bruno Fernandes capitalised on Irish defensive hesitancy and – following a lengthy consultation with VAR – a penalty was awarded for a foul on the Man United midfielder by Jeff Hendrick.

This seemed to be the moment for Ronaldo to alter the record books, but Bazunu produced the goods with a wonderful save from the spot.

Although Liverpool attacker Diogo Jota also rattled the post from close-range, Ireland grew in confidence as the game developed.

While former Templeogue College student (and St Jude’s GAA underage star) Dara O’Shea was withdrawn through injury, the visitors sensationally broke the deadlock on 45 minutes. After an Aaron Connolly effort was turned away by Rui Patricio, Egan magnificently flicked a Jamie McGrath corner into the net.

The Euro 2016 champions were expected to crank up the pressure on the resumption and a curling Fernandes strike drifted marginally off-target on 55 minutes.

Still, there were opportunities for Ireland to inflict further damage on Portugal and Connolly was close to doubling their advantage off an Egan knock down.

Heroic Irish defence was keeping their big-time opponents at bay, but they breathed a massive sigh of relief when Bernardo Silva lashed over with 16 minutes remaining.

There was always a sense that there might be a late sting or two in the tail and so it proved. Bazunu had made another excellent stop off a Ronaldo free-kick, but he couldn’t prevent the five-time Ballon D’Or winner restoring parity off a Gonçalo Guedes cross on the right-wing.

The main priority for Ireland at this stage was to hold out for a point and with the five minutes of stoppage-time that was announced already having elapsed, it looked like Ireland were going to return home with a positive result.

However, Ronaldo was determined to have the final say and he broke Irish hearts with the latest in a long list of headed finishes.