Rep of Ireland 4 Kazakhstan 3

Waterford FC striker Tommy Lonergan kept Ireland’s hopes of making the Euro U21 finals alive with a penalty four minutes from time in an entertaining seven goal encounter with Kazakhstan at Turners Cross.

The visitors, who hadn’t won or scored in eight previous games, stunned the home crowd with a superb strike inside the opening twenty seconds as Artem Litosh blasted home to the top corner almost from the kick off.

Ireland levelled the game within twenty minutes as Alex Murphy volleyed home a Jamie Mullins corner from a tight angle and Mullins put the home side ahead eight minutes later after good work from Lonergan.

However, another superb strike, this time from Karimov saw the visitors level on 38 minutes.

Ireland restored the lead within three minutes of the restart when Sam Curtis got a vital touch from a corner kick but once again they allowed Kazakhstan back into the game with poor defence at a throw in and Askarov fired home from close range.

With the game looking like it was heading for a draw, a long ball forward was picked up by Lonergan and as he took the ball beyond Kalmurza, the Kazakh goalkeeper clipped his foot and the referee pointed the spot.

Lonergan dusted himself off to blast home the penalty kick and Ireland saw out the game for a vital three points.

The result means that Ireland move into second place in the group, a point ahead of Slovakia who play England on Friday evening before the English arrive in Cork next Tuesday for the final game in the window.