Sport: Euro 2000 qualifier: Ireland 1 Macedonia 1
Saturday, 9 October 1999 21:34
The Republic of Ireland suffered another last minute goal this evening in their crunch Euro 2000 qualifier with Macedonia in Skopje to leave the result a 1 - 1 draw. It was Ireland who made the running early on and when Niall Quinn scored in the 17th minute it looked as if the Euro 2000 finals were in sight.
The Macedonians turned up the pressure in the second half but Ireland defended with composure for the most part until the final ten minutes. Some basic errors and a last throw of the dice by the Macedonians made that last ten minutes pretty unnerving. Then in injury time - as happened in the Croatian game in the last series of matches - the Macedonians got a late equaliser through Stavreski.
With the other crucial game in the group finishing 2 - 2 between Croatia and Yugoslavia the Yugoslavians now win the group and Ireland are consigned to the play-offs in Germany next month to try to gain a place in the finals next summer.
