Poland held on to inflict the Republic of Ireland's first defeat under Giovanni Trapattoni after a five-goal thriller at Croke Park.
Trapattoni suffers first defeat as Republic boss
Poland held on in a pulsating finish at Croke Park to inflict the Republic of Ireland's first defeat under Giovanni Trapattoni.
The visitors caught the Republic cold to take a third-minute lead through a header by captain Mariusz Lewandowski.
Half-time substitute Roger Guerreiro doubled Poland's lead within 90 seconds of the restart before Stephen Hunt's 88th-minute penalty sparked a frantic finale.
Robert Lewandowski struck a minute later before debutant Keith Andrews gave Ireland hope of a remarkable comeback in the 90th minute.
Kevin Kilbane was then denied a dramatic leveller during the four minutes of stoppage time as Trapattoni's six-match unbeaten start came to an end.
Kilbane won his 92nd cap to move into second place in the country's all-time appearance list behind the previous Republic boss Steve Staunton (102).
Shay Given is just one behind Kilbane and was handed the captain's armband for the second time in the absence of injured captain Robbie Keane.
Hull striker Caleb Folan was handed his first start in place of Keane and was a handful for the Polish defence, linking well with strike partner Kevin Doyle and wide-men Damien Duff and Andy Keogh.
However, it was Polish skipper Lewandowski who proved the most potent force in either penalty area during the first half.
Early opener
His glancing header from Lukasz Gargula's free-kick put his side ahead and the towering midfielder was left unmarked to head wide from Jacek Krzynowek's 27th-minute corner.
Roared on by what seemed like a sizeable proportion of the Polish community currently living in Ireland, the visitors might have had the game won by the break had lone striker Pawel Brozek not passed up a golden opportunity five minutes before the break.
Richard Dunne, who had dashed back to Manchester to be with his pregnant wife on Tuesday night before returning to Dublin on Wednesday, miscued a clearance into Brozek's path before recovering superbly to make a timely challenge.
But for all Poland's impressive play going forward, they too looked vulnerable at the back, and they were grateful that Duff had left his shooting boots back on Tyneside.
The Newcastle winger lifted a fifth-minute right-foot shot over before firing wastefully into the side-netting as he ran on to Doyle's 29th-minute pass.
Duff did well to work his way into a shooting position after combining well with Folan two minutes before the break, but curled his effort just wide.
Leo Beenhakker made two changes for Poland at the break and one of the new arrivals, Guerreiro, took little time to make an impact.
The Brazilian-born midfielder had been on the pitch for little more than a minute when he ran on to Gargula's flick and dispatched a left-foot shot emphatically past Given and into the bottom corner.
Fireworks
Robert Lewandowski fired wide from close range in the 59th minute, although the fireworks were still to come.
Alex Bruce headed just over and fellow sub Shane Long saw a looping effort cleared off the line by defender Dariusz Dudka, and Ireland's reward finally came with two minutes remaining when Stephen Hunt converted from the spot after Long had been felled by Tomasz Jodlowiec.
Robert Lewandowski appeared to have killed off Irish hopes when he lashed a 20-yard strike past Given before Andrews left his mark on an astonishing end, firing home from Folan's lay-off.
| Republic of Ireland |
Team Statistics |
Poland |
| 2 |
Goals |
3 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 9 |
Corners |
10 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
11 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 76.1 |
Passing Success |
72.4 |
| 17 |
Tackles |
33 |
| 88.2 |
Tackles Success |
78.8 |
| 54.1 |
Possession |
45.9 |
| 54.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
45.9 |
|
