Ireland 2 Germany 2
Republic of Ireland under-21 captain Liam Miller was the local hero as he gave his side a deserved friendly draw against their German counterparts with an 85th-minute equaliser in his hometown of Cork this afternoon.
Don Givens' side had been trailing since the 33rd minute when Thomas Hitzlsperger gave the visitors the lead with Germany's second goal in three minutes to wipe out the 20th-minute opener from John O'Flynn.
And it was O'Flynn who was the provider five minutes from time, teeing up Celtic midfielder Miller to slot home from close range.
Both sides were using this game as preparation for UEFA Championship qualifiers later this week - Ireland are at home to Albania in Longford on Friday and the Germans travel to Kilmarnock to meet Scotland on the same night.
Ireland started brightest, with Nottingham Forest midfielder Andy Reid hitting the back of the net after just six minutes after latching onto Miller's chip but the strike was ruled offside.
But the home side compensated 14 minutes later when O'Flynn took his chance, running onto a Sean Thornton through-ball and rounding goalkeeper Tom Franke to slot home for a well-taken goal.
Germany did not take long to get back into the game, however, and not only equalised but went ahead with two well-struck goals in three minutes around the half-hour mark.
The leveller came from prolific Mainz striker Benjamin Auer, who scored his 10th goal in 13 starts for Uli Stielike's side by firing home on the half hour. Then Hitzlsperger sent his country into the lead three minutes later with a stinging shot from inside the area.
The Germans played out the rest of the half and 25 minutes of the second period without being put under undue pressure. And they very nearly grabbed a conclusive third goal with 20 minutes to go when substitute Thorsten Burkhardt forced a save from Stack and Stephen Capper was forced to clear Christian Tiffert's follow-up off the line.
But the home side kept pressing for the equaliser they deserved and when O'Flynn found space on the right inside the area, he held the ball up perfectly before sliding it across for Miller to hit home.