Ireland were denied victory at the death once again as they were held to a fourth successive European Under-21s Championship qualifier draw in Georgia. The final score was Ireland 1 Georgia 1.

Don Givens' men were leading 1-0, courtesy of substitute Graham Carey's 48th minute strike, with just six minutes to go at the Mikheil Meskhi stadium in Tbilisi.

However, a first victory in their fifth qualifying game was wrenched from their grasp when Georgia substitute Vakhtang Kvaratskelia levelled. The result leaves Ireland with just four points from a possible 15 and with a mountain to climb if they are to emerge from Group Two.

Ireland now head to Yerevan for Tuesday's clash with bottom-of-the-table Armenia, who claimed their first point yesterday with a 1-1 home draw against Estonia, desperately hoping for a change in fortunes with hopes of qualification hanging by a thread.