Republic of Ireland vs. Georgia: Score, Reaction for World Cup 2018 Qualifying

The Republic of Ireland clinched their first win of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process on Thursday after captain Seamus Coleman bundled home the only goal of the match to seal a scrappy 1-0 victory.

Manager Martin O'Neill's side made a triumphant return to home soil and impressed at Dublin's Aviva Stadium, although a head injury suffered in the second half by Robbie Brady marred the result.

The Republic of Ireland now sit fourth in Group D behind leaders Wales, who finished with a 2-2 away draw against second-placed Austria on Thursday, while third-placed Serbia sealed a 3-0 victory against Moldova.

OptaJoe signalled the Boys in Green as being a difficult opponent to stop from scoring on their own soil:

There was plenty of reason for optimism coming into the clash, as far as the home side were concerned. A 2-2 away draw against Serbia was a reasonable result in their Group D opener, and Georgia were at the bottom of the pool following a 2-1 home defeat against Austria.

It was therefore something of a surprise to see Georgia accounting for the majority of the shooting chances in the first period, and Irish broadcaster Matt Cooper noted the hosts needed to be wary:

In fact, the Republic of Ireland didn't have much to look to for inspiration throughout the opening 45 minutes in what turned out to be a poor half, especially given how strong their Euro 2016 campaign was.

Valeri Kazaishvili flashed a wild effort just wide of Ireland goalkeeper Darren Randolph's post, while Levan Mchedlidze was also one of the prevalent threats for the away team.

Georgia had the better opportunities in front of goal in the first half, and Sky Football captured footage of the double chance that saw the guests just miss out on a 1-0 lead:

Following that close call for the home side, Georgia were dismayed to concede the opener a little more than 10 minutes after the restart, when Coleman came in for his first international goal.

Ireland's captain rose to the occasion, and the Daily Mail's Craig Hope noted it was a well-timed incision as Coleman weaved his way to the right byline, cutting in before bundling his way into the goal following a scrappy one-two:

Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Loria may have been upset with the poor manner in which his side slipped behind in Dublin, but that proved to be the breakthrough O'Neill's men needed to edge out a dogged clash.

There were seven minutes of injury time played after a clash of heads with Georgia's Solomon Kvirkvelia led to Brady being stretchered off, although Ireland's official Twitter account later sent out an encouraging message:

The Republic of Ireland were nowhere near their best on the evening, although what was initially a valiant show of defiance from the travelling team devolved into a tamer performance.

The final genuine chance of the evening fell to James McClean, who was unable to direct his looping header in as it came thudding off Loria's crossbar and back into play.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Burnley midfielder Jeff Hendrick picked up a late yellow card that ruled him out of the trip to Moldova on Sunday, but neither side had any other major personnel concerns.

The Republic of Ireland will travel to Zimbru Stadium in Chisinau, Moldova, this weekend for Sunday's clash against their pool opponents, who failed to take a point from either of their first two outings.

Following a disappointing trip to Dublin, Georgia will travel to meet Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, when they will hope to steer their Group D campaign back on track and revive any hopes of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Post-Match Reaction

Darko Vojinovic/Associated Press

Republic of Ireland chief O'Neill will be fully aware his side are capable of more and hope they're able to produce it against Moldova come Sunday, with competition in Group D looking strong as things stand.

The reaction after the half-time break was stronger than the first-half display, and the home team's boss saw positives from the response, per BBC Sport: "I expected Georgia to run us close. If they had a natural goalscorer in their team they could cause teams lots of problems. It was very difficult indeed, they had by miles the better of the first half and then we came into it. Seamus Coleman came up with a wonder run and a goal."

O'Neill went on to emphasise the need for improvement, adding: "The players have a great desire to do well. We needed a spark at half time and they got themselves going. We can play much better than that."

Georgia coach Vladimir Weiss, meanwhile, was left to settle for a second loss on the bounce, and Thursday's visitors will need a quick turnaround of they're to have any hope of advancing.