Troy Parrott scored twice but the Republic of Ireland were held to a 2-2 draw by Austria after conceding two second-half goals in their Nations League meeting at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
The result leaves Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side third in Group B3, behind Austria and Kosovo at the halfway point of the group stage. Ireland would have moved top with victory.
The match was interrupted twice before half-time. Around the 20th minute, tennis balls wrapped in stickers showing the Palestinian flag and the message ‘#StopTheGame’ were thrown on to the pitch. Campaign group Stop the Game later described the action in a statement as a “limited tennis ball protest”.
Play resumed after the balls were removed, with both teams using the pause for a water break. A second stoppage came around the 35th minute when a man ran on to the field from the opposite side of the stadium carrying what appeared to be a Palestine flag. He was quickly tackled and taken away by security staff.
Ireland made three changes to their starting line-up, including the return of Finn Azaz, whose name was warmly received when announced over the stadium’s PA system.
Gavin Bazunu was also back in the squad after making himself unavailable for the meetings with Israel, while Liam Scales and John Egan were named in the starting XI. A sizeable police and security operation was visible outside the stadium, where a small group of protesters had gathered before kick-off.
Austria threatened early when Sasa Kalajdzic attempted to catch Caoimhin Kelleher off his line with an ambitious lob from near the halfway line. Ireland then established a couple of promising spells in the visitors’ half before Parrott produced a fine individual finish.
The forward brought down Adam Idah’s glanced header from a goal kick and found himself surrounded by three Austria players. He sent the ball through Philipp Lienhardt’s legs, escaped the remaining challenges and completed a winding run by driving a low shot past Florian Wiegele and into the bottom corner.
Kelleher later kept out Patrick Wimmer as Austria began to create openings, but Ireland extended their advantage just before the break. Ryan Manning won a penalty after being clipped by Nicolas Seiwald, and, following a VAR review, Parrott took responsibility and struck the spot-kick beyond the Austria goalkeeper.
Austria’s substitutes changed the game after the interval. Liam Kitching was caught out as the visitors worked the ball to Alexander Prass, who finished past Kelleher in the 71st minute. The assistant referee’s offside flag was raised, but the goal was awarded after another VAR check.
Six minutes later, Michael Gregoritsch levelled for Austria. Kelleher guessed incorrectly as the Augsburg forward fired into the corner.
Ireland captain Dara O’Shea was denied a late winner by an excellent leaping save from Wiegele. Gregoritsch shot over for Austria, while both teams dealt with further attempts to snatch victory.
