Six points from two games was the challenge and as far as captain Seamus Coleman is concerned it is mission accomplished.
Wins over Georgia, courtesy of his strike, and Moldova sees Ireland join Serbia at the top of the table in Group D and while it hasn’t always been convincing, the Donegal man is satisfied with how results are panning out.
A James McClean brace helped the Boys in Green to the three points in Chisinau, while Georgia’s surprise draw in Cardiff has put a different complexion on the race for qualification after Ireland’s lacklustre 1-0 win over the same opponents at the Aviva Stadium.
As is so often the case, Ireland made the task all the more difficult for themselves on the stroke of half-time, when a defensive lapse allowed Igor Bugaev race through to equalise in first-half injury time.
The Everton man, yet again one of Ireland's best performers, admitted the goal, Moldova’s first of the qualification campaign, could have been avoided.
“We were very naive to be left open at the back like we were, considering it was just coming up to half-time and we knew it was going to be tough after that,” he told RTÉ Sport.
“They got their tails up and we had to grind it out a little bit and we were sloppy at times.
“James took his two goals very well and we have come out of here with three points, six points over the week and that is all that matters.”
Next up for Martin O’Neill’s side is a trip to Vienna and after a 3-2 defeat to Serbia, Coleman is expecting an even greater challenge and was honest enough to admit that the players will have to show greater levels of consistency to get a result.
“We know we can do better at times and we will be looking to improve on that next month because it is going to be a tough game against Austria,” he said.
