Chiedozie Ogbene's first touch secures hard-fought Ireland win against Latvia as Evan Ferguson opens his account

The Republic of Ireland, once again, threw away a two-goal lead and were made to work very hard to eventually defeat Latvia 3-2 in tonight's international friendly at the Aviva Stadium.

Stephen Kenny's side appeared to be in cruise control throughout the first half of this Euro 2024 qualifying warm-up after taking an early lead thanks to goals from Callum O'Dowda and Evan Ferguson, making his first start in a green shirt.

But just like they did against Armenia in September, Ireland allowed the visitors back into the game as Latvia scored twice with shots from outside the box to draw level at the break.

Ireland huffed and puffed throughout the opening stages of the first half before a triple substitution paid off as Chiedozie Ogbene scored with his first touch to snatch a victory for Ireland to at least build some confidence ahead of Monday's vital game against France.

More to follow

Watch Republic of Ireland v France in Euro 2024 qualifying on Monday from 7pm live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on 2fm's Game On

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