Victory in Moldova big for Republic of Ireland, says Martin O'Neill

Martin O'Neill hailed Republic Of Ireland's 3-1 victory in Moldova as a 'big win' after his side moved up to second in World Cup qualifying Group D.

Shane Long opened the scoring after just two minutes before Igor Bugaev equalised for the hosts just before the break.

James McClean then scored twice in the second half as O'Neill's side secured all three points to move behind Serbia on goal difference at the top of the table.

"We played excellently in the first half of the game," O'Neill told Sky Sports.

"We should have been two or three in front and we created some excellent chances. We scored early on which is great for us but we conceded a very poor goal at the end of the first half as far as we're concerned. It just knocked us back for a while.

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"We came round in the second half and won the game. It's a big win for us away from home."

Long was forced from the field in the second half to add to Ireland's injury woes but, despite having 10 players unavailable for selection, O'Neill was delighted to come out of this round of World Cup Qualifiers with six points.

"In a month's time nobody remembers who plays or what's played," O'Neill said.

"We've had injury problems coming into these two games which were in quick succession and we've come through it with six points."

Wales and Austria both dropped points in the race to qualify for the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and Ireland took full advantage.

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However, O'Neill still thinks it's far too early to call the outcome of the group despite his side's promising start.

He said: "It's too early to call anything. There's three games done in the group and we've come through three difficult games.

"We've got seven points on the board but it's still miles too early to call. It's a nice start though if nothing else."

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