ALL SPORTS

It was, in the end, the perfect scenario for an adopted Irishman of Italian descent. Not that Giovanni Trapattoni is the type to let emotion ever get in the way of a football result, but he could be forgiven an extra shiny twinkle in his eye after both of his teams went home happy. Italy got the point they needed to qualify for South Africa. Ireland made sure of a play-off place. How prescient that the strains of Hot Chocolate's Everyone's A Winner rang out over the PA system before the game. Did somebody back there know something?

Not a bit of it. Anyone who dared to think there could be some kind of arrangement, a nod and a wink between the two technical areas, grossly underestimates the spirit and resilience that is alive and kicking in these teams. Three minutes from time, Ireland rose to celebrate what they thought was a glorious match-winner from Sean St Ledger, who could not believe his fortune to nod in from Stephen Hunt's dipping free-kick.

Three minutes later, Alberto Gilardino slipped in the equaliser. It glossed a rewarding game with a grandstand finish. Irish attention now turns to two more big occasions, with the sudden-death play-offs in November. Wednesday night's game against Montenegro is nothing more than preparation.

The Republic's achievement – in remaining undefeated throughout the group thus far; in pushing Italy in both the matches; in creating a young and evolving team who are more competitive than anything they have managed since their last appearance at a major tournament seven years ago – is considerable.

The Irish took heart before kick-off as they got wind of Bulgaria's spectacular flakiness – the only team who might have pushed Ireland for second place combusted in some style in Cyprus.

With the Group Eight runner-up spot safely in the bag, the mathematicians began analysing the permutations to help the cause in the great play-off stitch-up, which favours the top seeds in the draw. Avoiding the second pot is not going to be easy. The Republic set about giving themselves the best chance possible as they started the match with relish.

For the first time since they moved into their second home, a genuine football atmosphere crackled through the towering stands of Croke Park. The place took off in the seventh minute when the Republic took the lead with a cleverly crafted free-kick after Robbie Keane was bundled over. With Italy expecting Liam Lawrence to go for the more direct route by pumping the ball into the penalty area, the Stoke midfielder elected to tuck it back towards Glenn Whelan, who was lurking 25 yards out. He swept a curving shot oh so sweetly beyond the reach of Gianluigi Buffon. On the touchline, Trapattoni and his assistant, Marco Tardelli, jigged merrily.

Italy were surprised, all right, and it was fitting somehow that the jack-in-the-box was Whelan, an industrious player whose progress epitomises the Trap effect. The man the Republic manager refers to as his Gattuso was identified, promoted, encouraged, trusted. In that moment he proved why. To Ireland's frustration he later picked up a yellow card for a clunky tackle on Angelo Palombo, which rules him out of their next match.

Then Italy knuckled down. The forward combination of the meaty Vincenzo Iaquinta and the nimble Antonio Di Natale followed Andrea Pirlo's lead and unpicked holes in the Irish back line. Fabio Grosso cantered upfield to fizz in a long-range drive. A minute later Italy were level. Iaquinta's corner found Mauro Camoranesi free in the area and he was able to glance in a simple header.

The Republic had a scare early in the second half, when Giorgio Chiellini got his head to a free-kick, Iaquinta flicked it on, and the ball ended up in the net. But the referee, Hauge Terje, ruled it out for offside.

Without exactly throwing caution to the wind, both teams were happy to search for goals when the opportunity presented itself. Robbie Keane twisted and turned to gain position in the area and could not quite manage to shoot as clinically as he would like. Then Richard Dunne headed too close to Buffon.

Italy sauntered up the other end and John O'Shea arrived to make a vital interception. Shay Given, the Republic keeper, then sprang to the floor to turn aside Gianluca Zambrotta's blast.

Both teams effectively drew and won simultaneously. Nice work all round. As Trapattoni once said: "The memory of beautiful football lasts for a while. The result lasts for ever."