Ireland have reached the World Cup finals with a 2-1 aggregate win over Iran despite losing 1-0 in the second leg of their play-off in Tehran. A last minute headed goal from Golmohammadi inflicted Ireland's first defeat in 17 competitive internationals and caused a few uneasy seconds before the final whistle. It was too late though and, as the better side over the two legs, Ireland deserved to progress. It was not a stylish performance by any means, but the Irish display was marked by hard work and stringent organisation throughout the team.
If one Irish player had to be singled out in this solid team display, it would be Shay Given. Although Saturday's man of the match was not overly busy throughout, he kept the game scoreless at a pivotal time of the match. Crucially, he made a superb reaction save from a blistering Bagheri shot before scrambling the ball away from the lurking Ali Daei in the 55th minute. If Iran had converted that chance, the Republic would have found themselves in serious danger of losing the tie.
It was not so much a case of Ireland withstanding constant Iranian pressure, but more that the home side created several heart-stopping chances. Until that last minute lapse, Ireland did well to prevent Iran from scoring. Before the match, Iran knew that they had to score at least two goals to have any chance of reaching Japan and South Korea, but Ireland set out to do a containing job and on the whole, did precisely that.
Striker Daei was probably the biggest threat for Iran, but he was let down by poor final balls despite some neat build-up play. In the tenth minute, the Hertha Berlin shot tamely wide from a difficult angle after getting the better of Steve Finnan. Twenty minutes later, a header went over the bar. In the 79th minute, Mahdavikia beat Ian Harte to the byline, but Daei failed to connect with the cutback pass. The best chance of the first half fell to Ali Karimi, who sent a looping header over in the 35th minute. Despite some close calls and even a consolation goal at the end, time eventually ran out for Iran, and Ireland are deservedly on their way to Japan and South Korea.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
