The Irish beat Malta 2-0, Lichtenstein 1-0 and lost to France 2-0. He played the first two games as centre back, keeping a clean sheet, and was striker for the French game. The Irish qualified to go through to the elite group phase next June when they travel to Belgium and will face Sweden, Switzerland and hosts Belgium for a place at the 2009 finals in the Ukraine.
Our thanks go to Derek Firth for providing the excellent photos.
