Georgia 1 Rep of Ireland 2
A late goal from Gary Doherty gave Brian Kerr a winning start as the Republic of Ireland put their first points of their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign on the board in Tbilisi with a 2-1 win over Georgia.
Damien Duff put the Irish ahead before the break but the Irish were living dangerously when Levan Kobiashvili levelled with half an hour remaining.
However, Doherty popped up in the 85th minute to lift the Irish into third spot in Group Ten while Georgia remained anchored in bottom spot with two defeats from two games.
Kerr's side created two clear chances in the 13th minute through their Lee Carsley and Duff but both went begging with Georgian 'keeper Georghy Lomaia looking in complete command of the home defence.
His defence however was breached in the 18th minute when Duff netted a rebound from the edge of the six-yard box after Lee Carsley struck the woodwork from close range.
Ireland than upped the tempo and created more scoring opportunities as the Georgians struggled to find their rhythm and to create any serious threat to Shay Given's net.
Immediately after the interval Carsley missed another clear chance when he failed to beat Lomaia from close range.
Georgia eventually found some rhythm, pinning their opponents back - and in the 61st minute Freiburg midfielder Kobiashvili pulled the scores level, beating Given with a precise freekick from the right side of the box inside the near post.
The goal was shrouded in controversy following a knife throwing incident minutes beforehand. Kevin Kilbane was struck on the arm by what looked to be a pen-knife launched from the stands. The Sunderland man presented the knife to the referee who acknowledged the incident.
The Irish replied on the counter-attack and Duff missed a clear chance to put his side back in front when he propelled a header into Lomaia's hands from just six yards in the 75th minute.
When all looked lost however, up stepped Doherty to win the plaudits and the points, sending a free header past Lomaia after Gary Breen had missed a close-range headed attempt.