By Craig Hope for the Daily Mail
Published: 21:41 BST, 10 June 2019 | Updated: 22:49 BST, 10 June 2019
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It is just as well Mick McCarthy said he would not mind a 'scrappy 1-0 win', for this was ugly even by Ireland's unsightly standards.
That they emerged with a 2-0 victory thanks to Robbie Brady's injury-time header was entirely unjust, for that scoreline suggests a degree of comfort and competence.
But this was far from easy, especially on the eye. McCarthy will argue that very few will remember the aesthetics of a result which puts them five points clear at the top of Group D. You would imagine very few would want to remember.
Ireland celebrate after taking the lead through Joseph Chipolina's own goal in the first half
Robbie Brady scored a header in the dying embers of the game to seal the victory at home
That, however, has long since been the way with Ireland and, if they are to make it to Euro 2020, they are likely to scrape there by whatever means necessary, much like the manner in which they arrived here late after an engine failure on the team bus.
McCarthy said: 'Am I happy with the performance? Not really. We've had about 30
