Darren Randolph: Made one great save from an audacious Sergiu Platica effort in the first half, and otherwise didn’t have much to do. 7
Cyrus Christie: Caused Moldova problems down the right, though his end product was lacking at times. 6
Ciaran Clark: Not an overly taxing evening for the Newcastle centre-back, but did what he had to well. 7
Shane Duffy: Marshalled the defence fairly well, and was a threat from set pieces down the other end. 7
Stephen Ward: Solid at the back and had a hand in both goals, producing the long throw for the first and a well-executed cross for the second. 8
David Meyler: One dodgy backpass to Randolph aside, Meyler barely put a foot wrong, mopping up nicely in front of the back four. 7
Jeff Hendrick: Played one or two nice passes, but was quiet and never really stamped his influence on the game in the way Hoolahan and O’Dowda did. 6
Callum O’Dowda: Rose to the occasion on his full competitive debut. Combined well with Hoolahan at times and wasn’t afraid to take players on and play the difficult pass. 8
Wes Hoolahan: Linked play brilliantly on occasion, producing a lovely sweeping cross-field pass for the second goal. The game’s most influential player. 8
Daryl Murphy: Won a well-deserved man-of-the-match award, he took both his goals very well and will feel he has done enough to warrant a starting spot against Wales. 8
Shane Long: Ran his heart out and won plenty of headers, but missed more than one gilt-edged opportunity. 6
Subs: It was nothing more than a light training session for Harry Arter, Aiden McGeady and Sean Maguire. The game was all but over when they came on and they didn’t really have enough time to influence the play. n/a
Martin O’Neill: Can be satisfied with three points and an easy win, while his decisions in picking fringe players such as Murphy and O’Dowda were vindicated. 8
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Long is just not good enough. This should be his last campaign as first choice striker. Time for Hogan & Maguire to be given minutes on the pitch.
@Robert O’Sullivan: lets not forget that before today, murphy had scored 1 goal in 23 appearances! Long’s not a natural goal scorer , but offers so much more in a miriad of other ways and thanks ok!
@Ross Mc Cormick: Sure he does. But are midfield doesn’t score goals either. Because of this we need a striker who will score 1 of the 3 chances he had today.
How can u give long a 6 ??? 3 sitters he missed …. more like a 3 or 4 rating
What’s the point of sending Maguire on with 7minutes to go.? Surely he deserves 20 mins at least to find his feet.
@Adrian Costigan: They should be trying him with Murphy, ideal forward pairing a la Quinn + Keano. Unfortunately stuck with Oneillasaurus it’s unlikely we’ll see it for a while.
Should we not of taken hoolahan off at half time up 2-0 to save him for Wales game..just a thought..
@Joe Flanagan: maybe we should HAVE
Have ye forgotten THAT goal against Germany, the World champions? Give the guy a break!
@Adrian Costigan: he’s had enough breaks,can’t be relied on to put even the simplest chances away.. running the channels and bulldozing defenders isn’t good enough, absolutely shocking finisher
@Adrian Costigan He was a sub for that match. That is his best position for Ireland ie. coming off the bench. He should never start. In any case, he is a player way off form at the moment and should definitely not start v Wales.
@ET PHONE HOME: The goal against Germany followed by his performance at the Euros. Not one shot.
@Adrian Costigan: in fairness that was 2 years ago he’s scored about twice since then and did nothing whatsoever at the euro’s.
If a chance comes Longs way on Monday, you couldn’t fancy him to take it, 1 goal in over 40 games is brutal.
Maguire looked lively when he came on but what could he do with him only on the field for under 10 minutes?
Big calls ahead for O Neill but its not like he is under any serious pressure with a new contract already in the bag.
Shane Long is a codger
A decent win as expected, but where was the urgency in the 2nd half, they played in a very relaxed manner as if not 1 player felt like they had any competition for their place in the team.
Je suis Shane Long
@Ben Framingham: et @Shane Long aussi. Tu est tellement mauvais aussi mon ami.
@Enda McCallion: Je suis subjectivity
How is second place playoffs seeded? By FIFA ranking or by most points Vs least points?
@Jack Strong: FIFA rankings for October
O’Dowda with an 8? Was I watching a different match?
Meyler just getting settled for an epic poo in that team shot
Poor Meyler. Captains his country, gets in for the most important photo of his life – the pre-match team photo. Then blinks….
@Regan: I don’t think photos are very important – he’ll get over it.
I’d have given Wes a 10
All the focus seems to be on Long who was very disappointing. He was never a prolific goal scorer and can’t even be the occasional goal scorer he used to be. However my biggest fear for Monday night is David Meyler. I thought he looked very average at best and a lot of passes were just short of where they needed to be including that back pass. Their midfield dominated the 2nd half and Aaron Ramsey is going to rum rings around him and the midfield in general. Hope I’m wrong but not optimistic.