The Liverpool stopper had a rare opportunity to impress with Gavin Bazunu given the night off. Had very little to do so didn't really have a chance to impress but performed the basics well.

Looked solid enough on his return to the Irish team but didn't have a particularly testing evening against a Malta team that offered a minimal threat in attack.

Another who was a virtual bystander for large portions of the evening with the Irish defence seldom on the backfoot, but the Sheffield United man can be happy with a largely faultless outing.

Came in for some criticism after failing to deal with a set piece for Norway's winner on Thursday, but recovered from that disappointment well tonight, earning a clean sheet, while also impressing with his distribution.

Gave his all down the left as usual, but looked a little short on confidence and his delivery was poor too often, prompting his substitution in the 66th minute. You could tell by his expression afterwards that he was a frustrated man.

Another player who looks a little low on confidence following an inconsistent start to the season at Spurs in which his game time has been limited. Doherty struggled to really hurt Malta down the right despite finding himself in some promising positions at times.

Received criticism for overly conservative passing against Norway, Ireland's recently named Player of the Year did try some ambitious balls with mixed results and did his usually tidy job in front of the backline -- but too often, the visitors' midfield play lacked urgency and ingenuity, and the Burnley man was among the culprits.

Had the odd half-chance in front of goal, but wasn't as clinical as Thursday, when his superbly taken effort almost earned Ireland a draw with Norway. Replaced by Jeff Hendrick in the 66th minute as Kenny's side looked to see out the win, but can be happy overall with his contribution over this international window and is probably one of the few players who come away with an enhanced reputation.

A deserved man-of-the-match, McGrath added some much-needed energy and creativity to Ireland's play. If he keeps playing well at club level, the former Dundalk player now probably has a decent chance of featuring against France following a year-long spell out of the team owing largely to a disastrous six-month stint at Wigan.

Worked tirelessly off the ball but couldn't really influence the game. It wasn't his night and it was no surprise to see him replaced by Evan Ferguson in the 77th minute.

Looked a little off the pace against Norway, but was better tonight. He showed some nice touches in the build-up play and took his goal very well.