Ireland player ratings: Collins a bright spot in defeat

It's back-to-back Nations League defeats for the Republic of Ireland as Ukraine leave Dublin with a deserved 1-0 win.

Here is how we rated the Boys in Green tonight.

Caoimhín Kelleher 5

Beaten all ends up on two occasions, but only once did VAR come to the rescue. Taras Kacharaba got the better of him with a looping effort from around 23 yards, but that fine strike was chalked off for an earlier offside. However, when substitute Viktor Tsygankov whipped an in swinging free from the right, it caught the defence, and Kelleher, cold.

Nathan Collins 7

Crucial recovering block in the box when Artem Dovbyk showed his strength by battling Shane Duffy off the ball and having a sight of goal in the box. That was the basics of defending from the Burnley man, and he also backed up a fine showing away in Armenia with his composure and athleticism here. Concentration levels were needed at the very end as he made another last-ditch sliding block to deny Tsygankov a second.

Shane Duffy 5

He was in the centre of the six-yard box desperately trying to clear Tsygankov's opening goal but could not get close to it. Had been muscled off the ball soon after in the 50th minute when Dovbyk was too hot to handle. His blushes were spared by the offside flag in the 74th minute when he swung at fresh air following Chiedozie Ogbene’s knock down. So close to an equaliser moments later when his bullet header from eight yards was tipped onto the bar by Andriy Lunin.

John Egan 5

One of the most disappointing aspects of the defeat in Armenia was the fact John Egan was nowhere near as commanding or confident with the ball at his feet. After 10 minutes it seemed as if he would be able to get Ireland playing with a delightful outside-of-the-right-foot pass into