SOMETIMES, it's better to be lucky than brilliant. After all, the Giovanni Trapattoni doctrine is that the league table is all that matters.

For 73 minutes at chilly Croke Park, it looked as though we were heading for a return to the kind of night which peppered the Euro 2008 campaign as Ireland trailed Georgia after an incompetent burst out of the starting blocks.

However, a baffling penalty kick award allowed Robbie Keane to restore parity and, five minutes later, the skipper capped a dramatic personal period by edging Ireland into a lead which they did not relinquish.

At the conclusion, the Georgians crowded around the Finnish match officials for a time before trudging off disconsolately, their feeling of injustice evident. Trap gave a hug to Marco Tardelli and sidled off looking contented.

The sum total is that, this morning, Ireland sit joint top of Group Eight alongside Italy, with a seven-point bridge back to the chasing pack; a great position, even if the visiting Azzurri contingent won't have left the ground shaking with the fear which Trap had mimicked on Tuesday afternoon.

"Sure, we were lucky in the penalty situation, this happens a lot in football," said Trapattoni. "But I think, over 90 minutes we deserved to win. It is not easy to produce the kind of reaction which we did in the second half."

The 69-year-old was happy, but the post mortem from this encounter leaves as many questions as answers with some very visible holes in this Irish performance. The tactics debate will roar on. There will be talk of Andy Reid, and lamenting mentions of Steven Reid and Stephen Ireland in the coming days with more difficult challenges on the horizon.

Despite that, it would be disingenuous to take away from the spirit which drove the green shirts towards a comeback that had looked unlikely for long periods. When they finally sensed blood -- after the spot-kick bombshell -- they seized the moment.

They were nowhere near as sharp at the outset. The pre-match consensus had been that Georgia would come to town and try and frustrate the hosts but their starting

4-3-3 set-up took Ireland by surprise.

So much so, that within a minute, the team ranked 108 in the world were ahead, with Stephen Kelly dithering over a routine clearance, seemingly unaware that Alexan

der Iashvili had dashed around on the blind side to latch onto a David Siradze flick on. The Karlsruhe attacker pounced to jab the ball past Shay Given. It was a goal borne from Irish sluggishness, and the Croke Park crowd was frozen in disbelief.

The script had been dramatically altered and, remarkably, the Georgians almost doubled their lead within a couple of minutes through a similar avenue. Kelly, given the nod after Paul McShane failed a fitness test, ponderously dealt with a header to provide Iashvili with another opening, but Given was equal to the task.

Trap's men looked frazzled by the setback, initially largely reliant on utilising Aiden McGeady to find a way back. At this juncture, he was flattering to deceive with the end product, although he would go on to become the game's outstanding participant.

Georgia were determined to press Ireland back, but the hosts did gradually gain control of possession, a spell which precipitated a controversially disallowed goal in the 25th minute when a Keith Andrews strike from outside the area was deflected into the net off a Georgian defender, but the Finnish linesman felt that the offside Kevin Doyle was close enough to the vision of 'keeper Giorgi Lomaia to justify raising his flag.

Keane fluffed his lines when presented with a half chance shortly afterwards, but for all of that, the Irish display lacked the intensity to rouse the crowd -- bar the valiant souls in the singing section -- from the eerie silence which had enveloped them.

Complacency crept in. A short corner catastrophe, where a shocking McGeady touch turned the situation into a Georgian throw-in emphasised the complacency. Yet, within a minute, the Celtic man showed a glimpse of what he is capable of with a darting 30-yard solo run which culminated with Lomaia palming a daisycutter to safety.

Alas, it was far from one way traffic with Georgian pace exposing Irish lethargy; Trap's midfield was parted once again before the interval, with the dangerous Levan Kobiashvili playing a quick one-two before forcing a smart stop from Given as the home rearguard stood off. The half-time whistle which promptly followed was greeted with boos.

After the restart, Ireland looked to push forward in numbers with the full-backs given a little more licence to roam, but the lack of a killer ball was a consistent failing. Set-piece delivery was poor as well with only the unconvincing Lomaia providing cause for optimism, frequently flapping around his area rather than commanding it.

The Georgian 'keeper was being given plenty to think about as Ireland frequently reverted to route one, but the first tangible second half opening fell to the visitors with a Kobiashvili strike ricocheting onto the post with Given beaten. Iashvili slotted home the rebound which was rightly chalked out.

That sparked the hosts into life, with the busy McGeady now beginning to penetrate, releasing two exocets on goal, with Lomaia stopping one and the other agonisingly close to the target.

By the midpoint of the half, the Irish had finally established genuine dominance, which saw Cuper introducing an extra defender to response. Around the area, however, precision was lacking. Then, in the 73rd minute, Finnish ref Jouni Hyytia threw out a lifeline.

Keane contested a hopeful punt forward amid a posse of Georgian defenders, but lost out and the ball broke to Doyle who was challenged outside the area. To the crowd's surprise, Hyytia pointed to the spot and subsequently it appeared as though he had spotted a handball from Georgian right full Ucha Lobjanidze.

The call was highly dubious and the Georgian protests were understandably lengthy. Admirably, the Irish skipper kept his cool amid the din and finished stylishly. And Croker was alive.

"I didn't see anything in it," said Cuper afterwards. "I don't know if we lost three points because of the penalty, but we definitely lost one. We were very angry after the penalty and it affected us."

Clearly, the visitors were rattled and Irish bodies poured menacingly into opposition territory. Three minutes later, another lofted delivery into the heart of the area found Doyle whose bullet header was brilliantly tipped behind by Lomaia.

The visiting stopper's moment of glory would be swift. McGeady swirled in the corner, and, as the red shirts hesitated, Keane speculatively threw his body at the ball with a combination of head and shoulders carrying it to the promised land beyond Lomaia.

He celebrated like a man who has had the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders in the past seven days.

Shellshocked Georgia had nothing more to offer, and the three points belonged to Ireland. The South Africa roadshow rolls on, but only just.

Ireland -- Given, Kelly, O'Shea, Dunne, Kilbane; McGeady, Andrews, Whelan, Duff (S Hunt 80); Keane, Doyle

Georgia -- Lomaia, Lobjanidze, Kaladze, Khizanishvili, Kvirkvelia; Razmadze, Menteshashvili (Khmaladze 70), Kobiashvili; Iashvili, Gotsiridze (Merebashvili 68); Siradze (Aleksidze 77).

Ref -- J Hyttia (Finland)