The Republic of Ireland outfought Bosnia-Herzegovina in Dublin tonight to clinch a 2-0 win and seal their spot in Euro 2016 via a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Jonathan Walters was the hero at the Aviva Stadium as the Stoke City man struck in both halves to help the Irish book their ticket to France next summer.
Here, Sports Mole analyses how Martin O'Neill's side went about qualifying for their second successive European Championship.
Match statistics
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Shots: 8
On target: 5
Possession: 36%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 12
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Shots: 8
On target: 4
Possession: 64%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 14
Was the result fair?
Without a doubt. Few can argue that the right team is not bound for France. Bosnia-Herzegovina were poor in Friday's first leg, and Mehmed Bazdarevic's side were woeful here again. Their wealth of second-half possession tonight was by design, with the hosts - who led through Walters's penalty at the break - confidently sitting back and weathering what were light drizzles of pressure from the visitors. Despite a few star-studded names, they never really looked like scoring tonight. The Irish deserved to win the match and the tie.
Republic of Ireland's performance
Leading the tie on the away-goal rule, a 0-0 would have been good enough for the Republic of Ireland after their 1-1 draw in Zenica on Friday. Right from kickoff, though, it was obvious that they had no intention of sitting back for 90 minutes. They looked the better, hungrier side early on and, without knowing the score, it looked like the Irish were the ones chasing this one.
Nevertheless, the 'luck of the Irish' adage is bound to be used in the wake of this. It was six years ago this week when Thierry Henry's handball effectively denied the Irish a World Cup spot. Tonight, luck was certainly on their side. Daryl Murphy's hopeful cross looked to brush the hand of Ervin Zukanovic and referee Bjorn Kuipers immediately pointed to the spot. It was a harsh concession, but the hosts did not care; nor did Walters, who sent former Stoke City teammate Asmir Begovic the wrong way.
Cries of 'Ole, Ole, Ole' echoed around the Aviva Stadium for much of the second period as the home fans looked to be the 12th man. Their team did not need one. Centre-back duo Richard Keogh and Ciaran Clark were surprisingly comfortable as they repelled everything thrown at them by a relatively apathetic Bosnia attack.
On 71 minutes, the Irish moved so close to France they could smell the baguettes and croissants. The lively Robbie Brady swung in a wonderful cross, which was sliced into the path of the unmarked Walters, who nonchalantly passed home at the near post to send the home support delirious. From there, it was a simple route to the victory and a surprisingly simple route to Euro 2016. Bosnia-Herzegovina were the highest-ranked team in the playoffs, but the Irish simply had too much fight for them over two legs.
Bosnia-Herzegovina's performance
Bazdarevic called on his side to show "more heart" in the wake of Friday's lacklustre performance in Zenica. His appeal fell on deaf ears. Bosnia-Herzegovina were horrendous once again on a night when they needed their big names to come to the fore.
Edin Dzeko, the spearhead in their 4-2-3-1, was ineffective as green shirts swarmed him within seconds of getting the ball. Miralem Pjanic certainly has the magic to inspire his country on nights like this, but he was lacking the wand again tonight. The lack of fight and discipline was glaring in both legs, and Emir Spahic somehow avoided a second yellow card after making a series of challenges which certainly warranted one.
Despite a perceived lack of fight, they needed luck on their side and Kuipers did them no favours by penalising Zukanovic for what seemed an accidental handball. Walters rolled past Begovic from 12 yards and it was then easy for the Irish - perhaps too easy. Second-half sub Vedad Ibisevic struck the crossbar in the dying stages, but scoring even once would have flattered the visitors immensely. They did nowhere near enough in this tie.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Jonathan Walters: The Stoke City man was not always involved - actually, he was relatively anonymous - but Walters, as he so often is for his country, was decisive again. He opened the scoring by rolling home a penalty which he never looked like missing, before side-footing home the second on 71 minutes as the Irish took a big step into Euro 2016.
Biggest gaffe
Ognjen Vranjes was recalled to the starting lineup, and the right-back hardly covered himself in glory throughout a first-half in which he was tormented by Brady. But it was an error in the second half which led to the second and killer goal, when Vranjes's sliced clearance sat up nicely for Walters, who made no mistake at the near post.
Referee performance
In truth, Kuipers had a poor game; firstly by wrongly pointing to the spot following Zukanovic's handball, before ignoring Spahic's best efforts to pick up a second yellow card.
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