Ireland draw Estonia in Euro playoff

IRISH eyes were smiling in Krakow after the Republic of Ireland were paired with Estonia in the Euro 2012 play-offs this afternoon.
 

The first leg will be in Tallinn on November 11th with the return leg at The Aviva Stadium on Tuesday 15th. Estonia was the tie most Irish fans had been hoping for and they breathed a sigh of relief as they avoided Turkey, who were the first team draw out of the bowl.

Giovanni Trapattoni’s luck continued today as his side got the draw they wanted. On Tuesday night, Ireland rode their luck in parts in defeating Armenia 2-1 in Dublin to secure their billing as top seeds - and now the Boys in Green will head into next month’s two-legged play-off as the favourites.
 

Estonia upset the odds to overcome Serbia and Slovenia to earn second spot in Group C, behind Group winners Italy, with Tarmo Ruutli’s men ten points adrift of the Azzuri.
 

Slovenia’s 1-0 win over Serbia on Tuesday confirmed Estonai’s second-placed finish. They overcame Northern Ireland twice in the group stages, winning 4-1 in Estonia before coming away from Windsor
Park with a 2-1 win.
 

Irish fans have fond memories of Estonia. On their way to the play-offs for the 2002 World Cup - Ireland’s last major finals - Mick McCarthy’s men recorded two 2-0 wins over Estonia. Mark Kinsella and Richard Dunne scored the goals in Dublin with Dunne again on target with Matt Holland in Tallinn.
 

More recently, Shamrock Rovers recorded a Champions League win over FC Flora Tallinn. Ireland were relieved to avoid Turkey, with whom they had a forgettable play-off battle for Euro 2000. After a 1-1 draw in Dublin, the teams played out a scoreless draw in Bursa to send the Turks through on the away goals rule.
 

The game ended in a brawl with Tony Cascarino on the end of some heavy-handed treatment. Next month, though, the Green Army heads to Tallinn confident of seeing their side book what would be the only the country’s second ever appearance at the Euro finals.
 

In the other games, Turkey take on Croatia, the Czech Republic face Montenegro and Bosnia meet Portugal.

The draw in full is:

Croatia v Turkey

Estonia v Ireland

Bosnia v Portugal

Montenegro v Czech Republic