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Live Commentary: Republic of Ireland 1-6 Germany - as it happened

Republic of Ireland host Germany in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers without leading scorer Robbie Keane.

Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of the World Cup qualifying Group C clash between Republic of Ireland and Germany.

Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland were hit with the news yesterday that all-time leading scorer Robbie Keane will miss out with an Achilles injury.

Keane is not the home side's only absentee; Richard Dunne, Kevin Doyle and James McLean are also missing, which leaves the Irish with a huge task to get anything against the side ranked number two in the world.

A notable absentee for the Germans is captain Phillip Lahm, who is suspended. Mats Hummels is also out with Per Mertesacker coming into the defence.


9.42pmThat's all from me. Reus and Kroos with a brace each in a glorious German performance. Read our full-time report of the action here.

9.40pmThe late goal will annoy Neuer, but Germany were absolutely breathtaking tonight. They'll beat anyone in the world playing like that, but Ireland did make it very, very easy for them.

Full-time!IRELAND 1-6 GERMANY

90+2 minNeuer makes a world-class save from Long but directly from the corner he is beaten as Keogh heads low and into the net.

90+2 minGOAL! IRELAND 1-6 GERMANY (Keogh)

90+1 minIt's all too easy as Muller cuts a cross back and Kroos has a shot saved by Westwood.

89 minGermany looking to see out the remaining time with some possession football. It's been as one-sided a game as I've seen recently.

87 min... It hits the wall, and Germany keep looking to break.

87 minYellow card! Badstuber is booked for a foul 35 yards out. Andrews will shoot...

85 minThey've had seven shots on target tonight and six goals. Efficiency at its finest and this could be Ireland's heaviest home defeat.

84 minUnbelievable. What a strike from Kroos. It's patiently passed around before Kroos drives forward and strikes from 25 yards. Unstoppable. What a show from Germany.

83 minGOAL! IRELAND 0-6 GERMANY (Kroos)

82 minGermany work it from the back to Schurrle, but he loses the ball in the Ireland box.

80 minChance for Germany! Boateng strikes left-footed from the edge of the box, but it's a comfortable low save for Westwood.

79 minGermany have had 61% possession this half, which is not surprising at all, they've been in total control.

79 minGermany passing patiently now, toying with Ireland. Everyone in white is getting a touch.

77 minYellow card! Long is booked for a needless foul on the half-way line.

76 minLong almost gets in after some dodgy defending from Mertesacker, but Germany escape.

74 minSchurrle has a pop from the edge of the box, but it's blocked. Andrews smashes one from range but it's well wide.

72 minScorer of Germany's fourth, Klose, comes off for Andre Schurrle.

71 minThe pace has slowed a little. Germany couldn't have continued at that rate, and it's over for Ireland anyway.

69 minMcGeady, probably Ireland's best player tonight, comes off for Andy Keogh.

66 minHere he comes. No hat-trick for Reus, as he's the man replaced.

65 minJoachim Low clearly wants more, Podolski is about to come on. Be fair!

62 minGOAL! IRELAND 0-5 GERMANY (Kroos)

60 minChance for Germany! Reus tries the same from the opposite side, but his effort is blocked for a corner.

59 minKlose is threaded through and rounds Westwood. The angle is tight but he finishes wonderfully for his 65th goal.

58 minGOAL! IRELAND 0-4 GERMANY (Klose)

57 minHow many more can Germany manage? They continue to attack and press and Ireland cannot settle.

55 minIt's Ozil and not Reus who steps up. With barely any run up he strokes it home, sending Westwood the wrong way. Game over.

55 minGOAL! IRELAND 0-3 GERMANY (Ozil)

54 minPENALTY FOR GERMANY! This time the referee gives it. O'Dea slides in for a ball he was never likely to win, bringing down Klose in the process.

53 minChance for Ireland! A free-kick comes in and deflects off a few bodies before Neuer gathers.

51 minShane Long comes on for Fahey. Finally some support for Walters as it looks like 4-4-2.

51 minNow a corner for Ireland. Much more positive from the hosts.

50 minChance for Ireland! Cox shoots from an angle and almost deceives Neuer who managed to keep it out.

48 minO'Dea flicks the corner away from the boot of Klose for a corner, which comes to nothing.

47 minYELLOW CARD! O'Dea tugs Kroos to the floor and he can have no complaints.

47 minNo changes for Ireland, but Kroos is on for Khedira for the Germans. An injury I believe.

46 minWe're off again. Germany get us back underway.

8.48pmFew minutes away now. Will Reus complete his hat-trick or will Ireland get back into this? I fancy the former option more than the latter... but you never know.

8.44pmIreland have to go for it early when we get back underway. There's no point trying to hold out any more, there needs to be some urgency and some support for Walters, who to be fair has worked his socks off.

8.42pmMatt Law's summary of the first-half action is here.

8.40pmThe booking spurred him on, however, and he responded with a right-footed effort that clipped the bar on the way in, eight minutes before a stunning left-footed arrow into the bottom corner.

8.37pmFirst, he nicked the ball from O'Shea, who tugged him to the ground for a certain penalty. However the referee was the only man who saw it differently and booked the Borussia Dortmund player.

8.36pmWell, for 30 minutes not a lot happened. Then the game burst into life and Reus was at the heart of everything.

Half-time!There's the whistle, and the Marco Reus show has given Germany a 2-0 lead at the break.

44 minWalters continues to work hard but he's been so isolated. It's hard to see even one goal from Ireland let alone the two they need to get anything from this.

42 minIt was Boateng who pinged the ball across to Reus, but even from there it would take a world-class finish to score. And that's exactly what it was. Could be over.

40 minGermany break at pace and Reus has space on the corner of the box and he arrows a left-footed drive into the bottom corner. Sublime finish.

40 minGOAL! IRELAND 0-2 GERMANY (Reus)

38 minMuller fires high and wide from distance as Germany look for a second before the break.

37 minThe hosts have produced very little so far. There have been a couple of nervous moments for Badstuber and Mertesacker but Germany deserve their lead. Can Ireland recover?

35 minIt's really poor now from Ireland at the back. Sloppy and slow with the ball and Germany's pressing game is telling now.

33 minIreland weren't let off for long. Schmelzer ghosts in behind and finds Reus who emphatically fires home for a Germany lead.

32 minGOAL! IRELAND 0-1 GERMANY (Reus)

30 minBOOKING! Yellow card for Reus for what is a CLEAR penalty. Unbelievable from the referee. It should be a penalty and an O'Shea red card.

29 minKhedira tries to find Klose with a ball over the top, but it's overhit and a goal-kick.

27 minKhedira strikes from 35 yards out, but it's blocked for a corner. Still no way through.

26 minWalters is leading the line well. This time he's wide left, but the support is not there again.

26 minFahey puts it straight out of play after a nice piece of skill from Cox.

25 minAgain Germany probe, again it's cut out. This time O'Shea. Solid from the Irish.

23 minIreland holding out well so far. It's defensive as expected and Germany are yet to create a really good chance.

21 minNeuer comes 40 yards out to head a McCarthy long ball out of play. Great goalkeeping.

20 minPatient probing from Germany involving Ozil, Schweinsteiger and Boateng, but they eventually go back to Mertesacker.

19 minChance for Germany! Reus tries a difficult volley from an even harder angle after Klose nods a Muller cross back to him. Never likely to trouble Westwood.

18 minGermany try to pass it in, but eventually Klose is crowded out. Ozil or Reus could have shot then.

17 minEnd to end now, as Walters cannot gather the ball in the box and Muller mis-controls for a goal-kick at the other end.

16 minChance for Germany! Muller rises highest to meet a header, and he was open, but the cross just asked too much and it's over.

15 minSchmelzer looking to gun down that left-hand side as much as possible. Germany starting to control this.

13 minIt's pretty even so far, with no real chances from either side. Germany passing the better but Walters and McGeady look threatening.

12 min... Again the final pass goes astray, this time Boateng unable to find Klose in the box.

12 minWalters wins another header, but Germany counter...

11 minKlose fouls O'Dea, who had done well to intercept a Reus pass.

10 minNeat passing from the Germans but Ireland nick the ball in the box. The away side are pressing high tonight, it's hard for Ireland to keep possession.

8 minWalters fouled again, this time after going up for a header with Mertesacker. He's causing a threat physically here.

8 min... Muller meets the corner but he'd have had to do very well to get it on target from there. Goal kick.

7 minWard tackles Muller, who had cut across from right to left to collect the ball. Then Ward slices over his own bar from a Muller cross and it;s a corner.

6 minWalters only had McGeady in the box for his cut back then. Ireland need to put pressure on this German defence.

5 minMertesacker is keeping tight to Walters at the start of this game. Not much midfield support yet... as Walters breaks through but Germany defend.

3 minGermany look to attack down the right but Cox is back well to defend.

1 minFollowed by an early corner for the home team.

1 minAnd we're underway! Ireland kick-off.

7.48pmMinute's applause for James Nolan, who died in Poland earlier this year. Raucous now inside the stadium.

7.45pmAlmost time for kick-off, so a quick prediction... Got to be Germany, and I'm going for 2-0.

7.43pmSome speeches from both captains for Unite against racism. It's bagpipes to play the national anthems - never heard the German theme like this before!

7.40pmThe teams have come out and we have the anthems. John O'Shea leading out the Irish as skipper tonight, and he'll need all his experience.

7.38pmAdd to that the fact that Germany are unbeaten in away World Cup qualifiers and you can see the size of the task Trapattoni's men have tonight.

7.36pmIt's hard to see Ireland keeping that attack out for 90 minutes, so I reckon we'll have to see at least a goal from the home side if they're to get anything from this.

7.35pmThat attacking midfield three of Germany in behind Klose is one of the best in world football. Pace, power and trickery galore from Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Marco Reus, and the game could be won in that department.

7.30pmIreland have a tough ask to qualify from this group even with their winning start. Sweden have also won both their opening games so defeat for the Irish would see a gap start to open up at the top.

7.28pmBoth sides are currently unbeaten in Group C; Ireland having beaten Kazakhstan away after a second-half comeback, while Germany beat the Faroe Islands 3-0 before edging past Austria 2-1 last time out.

7.25pmThat said, games between these two sides have not produced much in the goalscoring department in recent history. There have been three draws in the last five games between Ireland and Germany, with just seven goals in those matches.

7.23pmTrapattoni will be looking for his defence to remain solid, perhaps more than he usually does with the absence of Keane. However, conceding to Germany is by no means embarrassing.

7.21pmFrighteningly enough, that's not the strongest lineup from Germany. Both Phillip Lahm and Mats Hummels are out and are replaced by Marcel Shmelzer and Per Mertesacker. Up front they have to settle for Miroslav Klose, who has just the 64 international goals.

7.18pmNow Germany: Neuer; Boateng, Mertesacker, Badstuber, Schmelzer; Khedira, Schweinsteiger; Muller, Ozil, Reus; Klose

7.17pmNo doubt that team would look better with Robbie Keane, James McLean and Richard Dunne. However, they will have to hope Jon Walters can unsettle the German defence with support from Simon Cox.

7.15pmFirst up, Ireland: Westwood; Coleman, Ward, O'Shea, O'Dea; McCarthy, McGeady, Andrews, Cox, Fahey; Walters

7.14pmFirst up, I'll bring you the teams. It's not full-strength from either side, but Ireland certainly are more depleted than the Germans.

7.12pmGood evening and welcome to our live commentary of Republic of Ireland vs. Germany from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
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