"Ruben Neves scored a 91st-minute winner to spare Cristiano Ronaldo's blushes as Portugal beat Ireland 1-0 in World Cup qualifying. Ronaldo missed the chance to become the outright record goalscorer in World Cup qualifying when his 75th-minute penalty was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher. It looked as if Ireland's obdurate approach would paid off, but Neves denied them a point as Portugal finally unlocked the visitors' determined defence and beat the brilliant Kelleher."
"Portugal would have taken the lead in the 17th minute had Ronaldo's low drive from the edge of the area not struck the right-hand post. Bernardo Silva had the chance to fire into an empty net on the follow-up, but inexplicably sent his effort wide. That set the tone for a first half of toil for the hosts, who were then denied by the reactions of Kelleher after Bruno Fernandes' corner was flicked on at the near post."
"It looked as if Ronaldo would have his moment when the referee pointed to the spot after Dara O'Shea was deemed to have blocked a Trincao shot with his hand. Kelleher went down to his right but had the presence of mind to save Ronaldo's penalty down the middle with his legs, keeping the Portugal legend on 39 World Cup qualifying goals."
Ruben Neves scored a 91st-minute winner to give Portugal a 1-0 victory over Ireland in World Cup qualifying after Cristiano Ronaldo had a 75th-minute penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher. Portugal struggled in a frustrating first half, with Ronaldo hitting the post and Bernardo Silva missing a follow-up chance, while Kelleher produced key saves. Ronaldo fired narrowly wide early in the second half before a handball led to the penalty that Kelleher saved down the middle. Neves later converted Francisco Trincao's in-swinging cross, securing Portugal's third win from three and leaving Ireland with one point from three games.
Read at 101GREATGOALS.COM
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