REPUBLIC OF IRELAND rescued a draw with a last-gasp Jon Walters goal against Austria in their 2018 World Cup Qualifier.
Martin O’Neill’s side was undone by a 31st minute goal from Martin Hinteregger after Bayern Munich ace David Alaba supplied the ammo from a corner but the Stoke workhorse equalised late on.
Assistant Ireland boss Roy Keane said he wanted his players to “go to war” in the game but they were almost shot down by a single blow until Walters became the hero with a late volley.
And the home side could have won it at the Aviva stadium in the final seconds when Walters and Shane Duffy bundled a high ball into the net but the referee ruled it out.
A James McClean goal helped the Irish beat Austria 1-0 in Vienna seven months ago but the visitors almost got revenge in the return leg.
Walters had a decent chance on 23 minutes after a neat lay-off from McClean but he sliced a side-footed effort when brute force with his laces might have troubled the Austrian keeper.
And Ireland were punished eight minutes later when Hinteregger fired home a left-foot shot into the bottom-left corner to deflate the home fans.
Both sides had chances after the half-time break but Duffy failed to equalise with a header and Alaba fluffed his lines when given the chance to double his side’s advantage.
With 12 minutes remaining Ireland should have scored but everything went against them.
A whipped corner from Robbie Brady was headed goalwards by Kevin Long only for Stefan Lainer to hack the ball agonisingly off the goal line.
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McClean had the goal gaping for a rebound but - instead of keeping a cool head - he blasted the ball high and wide in a worrying sign it was not to be Ireland’s day.
But the tide turned when West Ham keeper Darren Randolph kept the deficit to a minimum in the final few minutes when he produced a great save to deny Florian Grillitsch.
A giant boot dowen the pitch after that Randolph save found Walters who ragdolled Aleksandar Dragovic before hammering a volley past the keeper and into the net to level.
The home crowd were temporarily delirious with seconds on the clock when Walters and Duffy bundled a looping ball into the net but it was ruled out for a foul or handball in the melee.
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