It wasn't the three points that we said were there for the taking midweek, but after such a poor first half performance, the Republic of Ireland can breathe a sigh of relief with a 1-1 draw against Austria.
Their unbeaten record in this campaign is still intact, as is their unbeaten home record in qualifiers under Martin O'Neill, with a point moving them top of Group B as things stand, as we wait on Serbia v Wales in Belgrade.
Martin O'Neill vowed his side would attack from the off, but it was a distinctly timid Irish team that played the opening 45 minutes.
After Austria dominated possession, they deservedly took the lead on 30 minutes when David Alaba's inswinging corner found its way to the penalty spot, where Martin Hinteregger was on hand to curl into the bottom corner.
Despite an improvement in urgency after the break, Ireland still struggled to break Austria down. Shane Duffy sent a header narrowly wide on 50 minutes, before Alaba came close to doubling the advantage.
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The longer the half wore on, the closer Ireland came. James McClean sent a shot just wide from the edge of the area after cutting in off the right on 63 minutes. Wes Hoolahan came off the bench and made an immediate impact, his cross almost turned into the net by Austrian defender Stefan Lainer. Lainer came to the rescue 10 minutes from time, clearing Kevin Long's header off the line, with McClean firing the rebound over.
As Ireland they charged forward, Austria almost caught them on the counter. Darren Randolph pulled off two great saves, before the Austrian defence finally blinked on 85 minutes.
Robbie Brady launched the ball down the left channel, onto which Jonathan Walters stampeded. The Stoke man shrugged off the challenge of Aleksander Dragovic, before burying to the bottom corner.
One point almost became all three shortly after. Kevin Long's header was blocked in the air, with Shane Duffy bundling it home from close range. However, the Brighton man was penalised, much to the relief of the Austrians.
