Daryl Murphy scored his first international goal moments after coming on as a substitute to seal a 2-2 draw for the Republic of Ireland in their 2018 World Cup qualifier against Serbia this evening in Group D.
Martin O'Neill's side took the lead through Jeff Hendrick, and goals from Filip Kostic and Dusan Tadic put Ireland on the back foot until Murphy struck with eight minutes of normal time remaining.
It was the perfect start for Ireland when Hendrick scored in the third minute by nestling the ball into the back of the net thanks to a deflection off Branislav Ivanovic.
The ball was knocked back into the box by John O'Shea following a failed free kick and found Shane Long, who passed to Hendrick through a tightly-packed penalty box.
Serbia's first genuine chance was created in the 23rd minute when Tadic's free kick was punched away by Darren Randolph, but the ball was still alive as Seamus Coleman was forced to clear off the line.
Randolph was called on a few minutes later to deny Kostic from firing the ball into the back of the net, and also caught Tadic's cross from the right-hand side of the final third.
The hosts began to pile on the pressure as the game went on, with Tadic causing a lot of problems with his pin-point crosses, but Ireland managed to hold out until the half-time break.
Tadic was left frustrated when his curling effort dropped wide, but the equaliser was found in the second half when Kostic got past Randolph after receiving the ball over the top from the Southampton man.
It was poor defending from O'Shea and Coleman as Serbia had plenty of space to cause problems, and the hosts took the lead seven minutes later from the penalty spot.
Tadic converted after Jonathan Walters was deemed to have fouled Kostic in the box, and the Irishman later tried to make amends by heading in Hendrick's cross, but the forward was offside.
O'Neill's team pushed for an equaliser and they were eventually rewarded when substitute Murphy got on the end of Robbie Brady's corner to head the ball into the back of the net.
With eight minutes remaining, both sides hunted for a winner, and Serbia came close when Coleman was forced to head Ivanovic's effort off the line, but the points were shared when the final whistle blew.
Danielle Joynson
