David Alaba blasted Austria back into the race for World Cup qualification and dumped Ireland out of it with a dramatic late winner in a 1-0 win in Vienna.
The Bayern Munich midfielder broke the deadlock at the Ernst Happel Stadion with just six minutes remaining to keep the Austrians on the coat-tails of second-placed Sweden.
Ireland needed to emerge with a victory if they were to stand any chance of claiming the runners-up spot in Group C, and they now head into their final two games against Germany and Kazakhstan knowing even a maximum return would almost certainly not be enough to send them to Brazil next summer.
Source: PA
