Collins left on the bench once more as Ireland beat Georgia

Luton striker James Collins was an unused substitute once more as Ireland beat Georgia 1-0 at the Aviva Stadium last night.
Town striker James CollinsTown striker James Collins
Town striker James Collins

Conor Hourihane's superb first-half free-kick was enough to secure victory in the Euro 2020 qualifier in Dublin, although keeper Darren Randolph denied Valeriane Gvilia before half-time and Jaba Kankava hit the Irish woodwork late on.

Mick McCarthy's men held on to move to the top of Group D after they had seen off Gibraltar 1-0 on Saturday, where Collins once more didn't get any minutes.

The Irish boss said: "That horrible, scrappy, 1-0 win (against Gibraltar) gave us the momentum we needed and we have had a 1-0 win tonight of a different ilk as we have played really well.

"We could have put two or three past them. Admittedly, Georgia have had chances, but they are a good side.

"Our all-round performance pleased me as we negated what they were trying to do for most of the game. The lads have put in an unbelievable shift.

"We played some great football and created chances which we unfortunately didn't take, but we didn't let them in so one wins it."

Collins, who missed Town's 4-0 win over Doncaster on Saturday, will be back for the trip to Bristol Rovers this weekend.

He will be looking to stay in the Ireland squad for the next qualifiers away to Denmark and at home against Gibraltar during June.