Rep Ire 1 – 0 Qatar

Captain Nathan Collins led the Republic of Ireland to a 1-0 World Cup win over Qatar as both teams were reduced to 10 men.

Collins ensured Ireland got the better of a team managed by his former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui with an early header.

However, how the evening might have ended if Jack Moylan hadn’t been dismissed as half-time approached, a sparse crowd inside the Aviva Stadium will never know.

Heimir Hallgrimson’s side, whose hopes of reaching the World Cup finals were dashed in heartbreaking fashion in March when they lost their play-off semi-final to the Czech Republic on penalties, were in complete control until Moylan’s untimely exit.

Qatar’s substitute Almoez Ali suffered the same fate after 12 minutes of the period.

The game was played against a backdrop of ongoing unrest in the upcoming Nations League clash with Israel, and play was interrupted on several occasions during the first half as ‘stop the game’ protesters repeatedly threw tennis balls onto the pitch in the crowd of 28,981.

Ireland now head to Montreal and their friendly against World Cup co-hosts Canada on June 6, while Qatar continue their preparations for the finals – they open their Group B campaign against Switzerland in San Francisco on June 13 – against El Salvador in Los Angeles on the same day.

The Republic took the lead after just five minutes when, after being fouled by Ayoub Al-Wei Waid on the left, Moylan curled the resulting free-kick onto the head of Collins, who effortlessly slotted the ball past ‘keeper Mahmoud Abounada.

There was a brief disruption as the protesters made their presence felt for the first time as Qatar’s Pedro Miguel was treated for an injury, but once order was restored, Troy Parrott shot wide for the first time after being tackled by Seamus Coleman.

The Qataris could get nowhere near Hallgrimson’s men and the mid-half drinks break did little to improve the visitors with Abounada having to field Jason Molumbi’s deflected shot from distance in the 24th minute.

Lopetegui couldn’t hide his frustration on the sideline and only defender Ahmed Fathi’s bravery denied Chidoji Ogbene a second goal as he headed home Liam Scales’ header.

But the home side’s night took a turn for the worse on the stroke of half-time when Northern Irish referee Jamie Robinson deemed Moylan’s challenge on Jassem Gaber worthy of a red card, to the obvious surprise of the Lincoln frontman.

With defender James Abankwah replacing Dara O’Shea at half-time, the 10 men were under pressure for the first time on their return, although Coleman almost caught Abunada off his line with a brave 52nd-minute effort from the right wing.

Edmilson Jnr pulled home a long-range effort two minutes later after Molumbi went down in midfield under a challenge from Fathi, and Caoihine Kelleher – his first of the night – had a superb 71st-minute reaction to save Youssef Abdurrisg’s deflected shot.

However, Qatar’s hopes of redemption were dashed with 12 minutes remaining when Ali was repeatedly tackled by Molumbi and was sent off.