The Republic of Ireland boosted their chances of reaching Euro 2016 after consolidating third place in Group D with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Georgia in Dublin tonight.

Jonathan Walters bundled a Jeff Hendrick cross home on 68 minutes as the hosts opened up a four-point gap between fourth-placed Scotland, who lost 3-2 to Germany in Glasgow.

Here, Sports Mole analyses how the game was won in South Dublin.

Match statistics

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Shots: 14
On target: 10
Possession: 50%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 10

GEORGIA
Shots: 4
On target: 1
Possession: 50%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 5

Was the result fair?

In the end, it is ever so hard to begrudge the Irish their three points. Despite a nervy start, they were the better team for the vast majority of the match - even if the visitors limited them to few goalscoring chances.

Had Georgia earned a 0-0 draw, the consensus would have been how Ireland threw away a huge chance. It was far from pretty, but manager Martin O'Neill will be too busy thinking about a potential playoff in November to care about the manner of victory. They are not there yet, but a third-place finish is firmly in their own hands now.

Republic of Ireland's performance

With their final two Euro 2016 qualifiers coming at home to Germany and away to Poland next month, the consensus was that nothing but a win would do for the Republic of Ireland tonight to maintain their hopes of reaching the finals in France. It came as a surprise, then, to see much of the urgency come from the visitors early on, with Levan Mchedlidze spurning a fine chance on 12 minutes.

There was a palpable tension among the home fans inside the Aviva Stadium, but the hosts slowly but surely eased anxiety levels by growing into the contest, with Robbie Keane missing a half chance, before Seamus Coleman's ferocious volley was expertly pushed away by goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili.

If victory was a foregone conclusion then O'Neill's men must have missed the memo. Having gone into the break at 0-0, it was clear that something different was needed, and O'Neill replaced captain and all-time record goalscorer Keane for Shane Long at the start of the half. It had little effect. However, it was another decision from the manager which helped secure the victory.

O'Neill kept faith with the largely unimpressive Hendrick, with the Derby County man then vindicating that faith by embarking on a mazy run en route to setting up Walters on 68 minutes. Questions over the manner of victory are for another day. For now, O'Neill will surely have one eye on a playoff berth in November. It was also billed as his first real test in charge of the Boys in Green, and one that he passed. Just about.

Georgia's performance

With their hopes of finishing third hanging by a thread before kickoff, Kakhaber Tskhadadze's side began the contest like a team determined to do everything in their power to delay confirmation of their elimination for as long as possible.

Initially, they looked capable of achieving something that had previously stumped them five times on the spin: beating the Republic of Ireland in a competitive setting. If not for Ciaran Clark's magnificent block on seven minutes, Mchedlidze might have fired the visitors into a shock lead, with the Georgian forward then fluffing an even better chance minutes later.

At the other end, their defence successfully repelled everything thrown at them when Ireland grew in control as Tskhadadze and co earned a deserved draw at the break. From there, though, Georgia got weaker as the Irish grew stronger, with goalmouth action at a minimum for goalkeeper Shay Given.

Even still, a point looked very much on the table, courtesy of an excellent defensive display, with none better than Zurab Khizanishvili on the night. However, the way in which Hendrick danced his way through a number of defenders en route to the goal will infuriate Tskhadadze.

Overall it was a performance that made a mockery of their FIFA ranking of 147th, but they will return to Dublin next year for World Cup qualifying with a sense of unfinished business.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Robbie Brady: Just as he was in Faro on Friday for the 4-0 win over Gibraltar, the left-back was arguably O'Neill's stand-out performer here again. Despite a shaky start, in which he lost possession needlessly on a few occasions, the Norwich City man bounced back superbly with an excellent showing at both ends. He has one of the sweetest left feet around, and goalkeeper Revishvili will testify to that after spending most of the evening pushing his deliveries away. Brilliant overall.

Biggest gaffe

Georgia striker Mchedlidze had Irish hearts in mouths on 12 minutes by latching on to Tornike Okriashvili's defence-splitting ball to find himself with only Given to beat. It was on his weaker right foot, but it was still a clear goalscoring opportunity that even the most modest of Sunday league marksmen would have converted, but Mchedlidze scuffed his effort.

Referee performance

It was a quiet performance by referee Istvan Vad, who only had Glenn Whelan and James McLean - both of whom now miss the visit of world champions Germany next month - to book during the 90 minutes.

What next?

Republic of Ireland: The Irish are back in Dublin on October 8 for the visit of world champions Germany.

Georgia: Also on October 8, Georgia host Gibraltar in Tbilisi.