Republic of Ireland 1-1 Czech Republic

Ireland left it late to earn a share of the spoils against the Czech Republic at the Aviva tonight with Simon Cox's 87^th minute goal getting the draw for Ireland, while former Derry City star James McClean made his debut 12 minutes from the end.

The Sunderland winger replaced Aiden McGeady for the latter stages to a magnificent ovation and did himself proud during his, albeit brief, cameo.

Milan Baros notched a first half goal for the Czechs, but Cox's equaliser will give Ireland confidence going into their next game Euro 2012 warm-up against Bosnia-Herzegovina on May 26.

Trappatoni's side started well, dominating the opening exchanges but once the Czechs started to play the ball around a bit more they started to dominate. Glenn Whelan's temporary departure through a nasty cut to the lip after 20 minutes was a turning point in the first half, as the Czechs found themselves with a lot more space on the ball while the Stoke midfielder was off the pitch.

Shane Long and Robbie Keane both had chances in the first 20 minutes, but none were clear enough for the strikers to capitalise on. Long's first-minute header from a McGeady cross was straight into the arms of Chelsea stopper Petr Cech, while a lobbed Keith Andrews pass over the top later put Keane through, but Cech again just about denied the Irish captain.

The visitors seemed a bit trigger happy in attack. Jaroslav Plasil, Baros and Jan Rezek all wasted good passing moves with poor final shots from long range. Meanwhile Shay Given got himself in a spot of bother when he hit Rezek with an attempted clearance, but he quickly atoned by diving bravely at the feet of Jiri Stajner to avert the danger.

On more than one occasion in the first half, though, Ireland were made to clear their lines in a hurry. Theo Gebreselassie looked a real threat as he bombed forward down the right for the Czechs, with McGeady tracking back to curb his runs more often than he would have liked to.

The Czechs, after opening the second half with more menacing passing in the Irish half, took the lead on 50 minutes. Baros was the one to net but in truth it was almost gifted to him after some slack defending. Rezak got the ball just outside the Irish box and John O'Shea rushed out, allowing Baros to slip in behind him. In spite of the attention of O'Shea, Sean St. Ledger and Darren O'Dea, Rezak skillfully played Baros through for an easy goal - the 40^th for his country.

Rezak and Gebreselassie were the two most exciting Czech players, with Rezak's curling shot going just wide soon after the goal, though Cech again thwarted Ireland on 67 minutes, when he easily caught O'Dea's powerful header from a McGeady cross. Robbie Keane's new role playing just behind the front striker attracted much of the pre-match attention, but he had a quiet second half and was substituted on 71 minutes for Jonathan Walters.

But the big introduction of the night, from an Irish point of view, at last came after 78 minutes. McClean, in scintillating form for Sunderland, replaced McGeady- with another substitute, Stephen Hunt, switching flanks to allow McClean to play on the left.

Top scorer in the Czech Gambrinus Liga David Lafata went close on 83 minutes but shot wide but the Czechs were comfortable for a time and should be pleased with their display. Nonetheless, Ireland rescued the result with just three minutes of normal time left. Keith Andrews won the ball about 30 yards out and played it along the ball for Cox. On his own up front, Cox evaded his marker and shot into the bottom corner past an outstretched Cech.

The goal energised Ireland, with two successive McClean crosses being hastily cleared. But 1-1 it ended, with both sides giving a relatively good account of themselves.

Ireland: Shay Given; Sean St.Ledger, Stephen Ward, John O'Shea, Darren O'Dea; Glenn Whelan (Paul Green 63), Aiden McGeady (James McClean 78), Keith Andrews, Damien Duff [Stephen Hunt '63]; Robbie Keane (Simon Cox 71), Shane Long (Jonathan Walters 71). Subs not used: David Forde, Shane Duffy, Seamus Coleman, Kevin Foley, James McCarthy, Stephen Henderson.

Czech Republic: Petr Cech; Theodor Gebreselassie (Frantisek Rajtoral 67), Michal Kadlec, David Limbersky, Tomas Sivok; Milan Petrzela (Vaclav Pilar 67), Jan Rezek (Tomas Pekhart 87), Jaroslav Plasil, Petr Jiracek (Tomas Hubschmann ht); Jiri Stajner (David Lafata 59); Milan Baros (Daniel Kolar 59). Subs not used: Jaroslav Drobny, Jan Rajnoch, Daniel Pudil.

Referee: Manuel Jorge Neves Moreira de Sousa (Portugal)

Attendance: 37,741

Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Jan Rezak.