David Forde – 6 Took a knock in the first half but reliable on the couple of times he was called into action. Well beaten by Maloney’s terrific strike.

Seamus Coleman – 6 Had the pacey Ikechi Anya to deal with and kept the Watford winger reasonably quiet while rarely getting forward himself.

Richard Keogh – 6 Generally solid on his competitive debut for Ireland in place of the injured Marc Wilson.

John O’Shea – 6 Captain for the night with Robbie Keane not making the starting XI, O’Shea led by example at centre half.

Stephen Ward – 5 Wasn’t given a huge amount of protection by James McClean and struggled to get to grips with goalscorer Shaun Maloney.

Aiden McGeady – 6 Showed grit and determination on a tough night for the former Celtic man but overran the ball a couple of times and booked early on.

Darron Gibson – 5 Still appears to be short of full match fitness, Gibson looked shattered when he was taken off on 69 minutes.

Jeff Hendrick – 5 Much was expected of the Derby County midfielder, who has been excellent in recent times, but Hendrick was unable to stamp his authority on the game.

James McClean – 5 Got stuck in but Steven Whittaker had him in his pocket for 90 minutes.

Jon Walters – 6 Began really well by combining with Long, and contested every header and loose ball like it was his last, but very little in the way of end product.

Shane Long – 6 Given the nod ahead of Robbie Keane, Long had Ireland’s best chance with a reflex header which was saved by David Marshall.

Stephen Quinn (for Gibson, 68) – 5 Wasn’t able to get involved after replacing Gibson.

Robbie Brady (for Long, 68) – 6 Tried to make get on the ball and make things happen upon his introduction.

Robbie Keane (for Hendrick, 78) – 5 Thrown on with 12 minutes remaining but didn’t get a minute from the resolute Scottish backline.

The Shane Long experiment didn’t work and 4 more talking points from tonight

Occasion may have got the better of McGeady and others as luck runs out for O’Neill