Michael Doyle scored twice on his Republic of Ireland under-21 debut as Don Givens' new-look side sparked into life after a sluggish first half to earn their fourth victory of the European Championship qualifying group and guarantee third place in the Group Two table.

Doyle, the Celtic midfielder on loan to Danish side Aarhus, struck on the double during a five-minute spell early in the second period at rain-drenched Longford, while another debutant, Nottingham Forest striker Andy Reid, added a third four minutes later.

Cyprus, who restricted Ireland to just a 1-0 victory in Larnaca in March but who had also posted three wins in a section where Portugal have already stamped their ticket for next summer's finals, were close to being overwhelmed.

With five new caps in the starting line-up, Ireland could not turn their majority of possession into tangible reward in the first half. Goalkeeper Barry Roche was called into the side late on after Tranmere star Joe Murphy failed a late fitness test, but nearly all of the action was at the other end.

Reid, a sharp, gifted centre-forward, went closest to breaking the deadlock in the 17th minute, curling his shot just wide after a sublime piece of control which took him past a desperate challenge to latch onto Graham Barrett's pass.

Cyprus goalkeeper Antonis Gallidi was barely tested in the opening 45 minutes, but seconds after the break he made a remarkable save with his foot, blocking a close-range shot by Thomas Butler.

The pressure told in the 55th minute when Doyle toe-poked home after Cyprus failed to clear a free-kick from John Thompson. Within five minutes he doubled his tally with a cracking angled shot from the left which flew low past Gallidi and in off the base of the far post.

Reid added a third four minutes later, capitalising on a mistake in the Cypriot defence to glide his shot beyond Gallidi.

It would have been four within a minute but for West Ham's Byrne having a powerful drive desperately blocked and the rest was almost a procession towards the Cyprus goal.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Roche, Thompson, Goodwin, O'Shea, Foy, Butler, Byrne, Miller, Doyle, Andy Reid, Barrett. Subs: Burgess, O'Callaghan, McGill, Shelley, Rogers, Damien Delaney, Keane.

CYPRUS: Gallidi, Ilia, Karalambous, Thagofilu, Nikolaou, Kakogannis, Pittas, Aresti, Nicolaou, Karalambidis, Constantinu. Subs: Kavazis, Antoneeu, Agapiou, Kounnoushi, Mikael, Konstandinu.

Referee: S Ghazargan (Armenia)