Evan Ferguson’s fourth senior international goal handed the Republic of Ireland a 1-0 Nations League victory over Finland as Caoimhin Kelleher saved a penalty to see them across the line.
The 20-year-old Brighton striker’s header in the final minute of the first half proved sufficient to add three more points to those his side secured in the reverse fixture in Helsinki last month, but only after Liverpool keeper Kelleher had kept out substitute Joel Pohjanpalo’s second-half spot-kick.
Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has now won two of the five matches for which he has been in charge, but the fact that Ireland have tasted victory just eight times in their last 34 competitive outings fixtures serves as a reminder that they remain a work in progress.
However, a fit-again Ferguson, aided by the invention of winger Mikey Johnston, the movement and industry of Sammie Szmodics and a general tenacity in defence suggests a measure of improvement even if they were grateful to the woodwork for two first-half escapes.
Kaan Kairinen produced the game’s first attempt with 14 minutes gone, but cleared the crossbar by some distance, much to the enjoyment of the locals, although Liam Scales had to throw himself into the path of the midfielder’s 16th-minute shot after Nikolai Alho and Robin Lod had exchanged passes down the right to open Ireland up.
They thought they had taken a 23rd-minute lead with their most fluent move of the game to that point when Szmodics rounded keeper Lukas Hradecky to finish after running on to Ferguson’s superb pass, but he has slightly mistimed his run and an offside flag ruined his celebrations.
Ferguson saw a long-range attempt loop over with Hradecky wrong-footed two minutes later with Hallgrimsson’s men warming to their task, but they were fortunate to escape 14 minutes before the break when Alho robbed Johnston and fed Lod, who curled a left-foot shot across Kelleher, but saw the ball come back off the far post.
Striker Benjamin Kallman acrobatically headed just wide from an Antman cross and was then denied one-on-one by Kelleher, and Hradecky had to tip over Szmodics’ well-struck effort after he had muscled defender Arttu Hoskonen off the ball.
Matt Doherty – back in the starting line-up after initially being left out of the squad – powered a free-header wide from Johnston’s corner with four minutes of the half remaining, but it took Nathan Collins’ intervention to turn Antman’s goal-bound effort on to the same post which had earlier denied Kallman, and the Republic made the most of their second escape on the stroke of half-time.
Johnston tricked his way past Alho once again and chipped the most teasing of crosses into the box for Ferguson to head home from close range.
If the first half had ended in explosive fashion, the start of the second was prosaic by comparison with Szmodics’ foraging runs and Peltola’s willingness to drill cross-field passes out to Alho all it had to recommend it.
Johnston went just wide after cutting inside Lod from Doherty’s driven pass, but Kelleher was relieved to see Pohjanpalo steer a first-time shot just over from fellow substitute Daniel O’Shaughnessy – his father was born in Ireland – with 22 minutes remaining.
Ferguson’s evening took a turn for the worse with 14 minutes remaining when, after a VAR review, he was adjudged to have blocked O’Shaughnessy’s hooked attempt with his arm and German referee Harm Osmers belatedly pointed to the spot.
But Kelleher guessed correctly as he dived to his right to save Pohjanpalo’s attempt from 12 yards before claiming the loose ball, and the striker further fluffed his lines in stoppage time when he fell over inside the box after being presented with a chance to redeem himself.
