Republic of Ireland seal comfortable win over Uruguay

Republic of Ireland have continued their preparations for the forthcoming World Cup qualifier against Austria with a comfortable win over Uruguay.

After a cagey start from both sides, which saw Edinson Cavani limp off in the opening minutes, Robbie Brady almost gave the hosts the lead when his shot was turned around the post by Esteban Conde.

On 17 minutes, Uruguay offered their first attempt on target, with striker Christian Stuani seeing his close-range effort kept out by Darren Randolph.

The Boys in Green edged in front just before the half-hour mark after Glenn Whelan and Jonathan Walters struggled to get the ball out of their feet before the Stoke City forward took charge and unleashed a fierce strike to beat Conde.

Moments later, Uruguay came close to an equaliser after Martin Caceres rattled the crossbar with a header inside the penalty area.

The away side's persistence paid off on 38 minutes when Jose Gimenez's looping header beat the onrushing Randolph.

However, within moments of the restart, Ireland were back in front after Cyrus Christie's cross-cum-shot rolled into the bottom corner of the net.

Midway through the second half, Stuani thought he had restored parity once more when he netted from close range, but the Middlesbrough frontman had strayed a yard offside.

Ireland made sure of victory with 19 minutes left when Daryl Murphy's inch-perfect pass found James McLean, who sprinted in from the left flank before beating Conde to his left-hand side.

The Boys in Green face Austria in a World Cup qualifier at the Aviva Stadium next Sunday, with the chance to go top of Group D.