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Poland beat Republic of Ireland 2-1 in their last Euro 2016 qualifying encounter in Group D on Sunday to seal automatic qualification to the tournament. The Poles secured victory at home through goals from Grzegorz Krychowiak and striker Robert Lewandowski on either side of half-time. Jonathan Walters scored for the Republic of Ireland from the spot to almost instantly cancel out Krychowiak’s opener early in the first half.
The top two places for automatic qualification in Group D were up for grabs with Germany, Poland and Republic of Ireland all in the mix. With Germany playing minnows Georgia and needing just a point to qualify, it was virtually a direct eliminator between the two nations with the winner qualifying for next summer’s championships in France. The Irish needed a win or a draw of 2-2 or above to topple Poland and claim runners-up in the group.
After a cautious start from the two teams, the game exploded into life in the 13th minute when Krychowiak struck with a driven shot from 20 yards out after Irish stopper Randolph had instinctively parried away Kamil Grosicki’s close range shot. Krychowiak found the bottom corner with Randolph wrong footed and with little chance.
But the hosts weren’t behind for long. In the 16th-minute, defender Michal Pazdan's high challenge on Long was deemed rash and a penalty was awarded to the Irish. But television replays suggested it might have occurred just outside the box. Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir nevertheless pointed to the spot and Walters calmly beat keeper Lukasz Fabianski to claim his eight goal in an Ireland shirt.
But red-hot striker Robert Lewandowski restored Poland's lead in the 42nd minute with a powerful and accurately placed header from close to the penalty spot to take his country into the Euro 2016. That put the Bayern Munich front man on 13 goals for the qualifying campaign, equalling the record set by David Healy for Northern Ireland during the 2008 Euro qualifiers. The striker has now scored 15 goals in his last six games for club and country, including both strikes in Thursday's 2-2 draw in Scotland.
The Republic of Ireland will now have to overcome playoffs if they have to qualify for the championships next summer. The draw for the play-offs will take place on Sunday 18 October with the two-legged games scheduled to be played between 12-17 November.
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill summed up his team's fortunes speaking to the media after the match.
He said, "It is disappointing because beating Germany gave us a run at it.
"We maybe did not have the same energy in this match, but it was always going to be difficult with the short turnaround.
"We had a chance to score with Richard Keogh. But we didn't take it, it is gone and we move on."
