Evan Ferguson and Caoimhin Kelleher give Ireland glimpse of the future in Finland win - Ireland 1-0 Finland: Ferguson grabbed the winner and goalkeeper Kelleher saved Joel Pohjanpalo’s penalty in a ha

Evan Ferguson admitted his comeback from injury was a tougher process than he would’ve imagined – before declaring he was in “the best shape” after scoring Ireland’s winner against Finland. The 20-year-old had the only goal of the game against the Finns on Thursday night as the Boys in Green secured a first home win

Ferguson seized his, scoring just his second goal of the season for club or country, while Sammie Szmodics thought he had his first for Ireland, only to see it ruled out for offside, but the in-form Ipswich Town man took another step forward here and cemented his standing as a key man in this Hallgrimsson era.

Ireland host Finland at the Aviva Stadium tonight in their fifth match of the Nations League campaign. Having already beaten the visitors in Helsinki, the home side will be hoping for more of the same in front of their home fans.

Finland have looked threatening in the last few minutes, without creating a clear-cut chance. Ireland then respond as Johnston breaks free and releases Ferguson. His square ball is for Szmodics, but it's too close to FInland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.

Republic of Ireland 1 Finland 0 From Andy Watters at the Aviva Stadium EVAN Ferguson’s first half header and Caoimhin Kelleher’s brilliant second half penalty save were the highlights as the Republic of Ireland dug in to win a game that could have gone either way.

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