Republic of Ireland 0 Poland 0: Stalemate for new boss O’Neill

Martin O’Neill’s opening foray into international management ended in satisfactory fashion as the Republic of Ireland claimed a friendly 0-0 draw in Poland.

A much-changed Ireland side gave as good as it got at the INEA Stadium, the site of Euro 2012 finals defeats by Croatia and Italy, in a hard-fought game which ended 0-0 despite the best efforts of both teams.

Defender Stephen Kelly went closest to winning it for the visitors with a first-half header, while Poland substitute Lukasz Teodorczyk blasted just over from distance in a rousing second half.

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The Ulsterman opened his account with a 3-0 friendly victory over Latvia, and the stalemate in Poznan simply maintained the positivity within the camp.

Where Ireland played with a freedom and genuine purpose against the Latvians, they had to be a little more circumspect against stronger opponents.

However, Aiden McGeady, who starred in Dublin on Friday, proved similarly influential during his 62 minutes on the pitch, and there were flashes too from Celtic striker Anthony Stokes.