Ireland finished off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-1 win over Kazakhstan at the Aviva to give themselves a good chance of being seeded among the second group for the Euro 2016 draw. Miroslav Beranek's men had threatened to ruin the home side's evening by taking a 13th-minute lead in spectacular style when Dmitriy Shomko lashed home an unstoppable shot from 25 yards. But as so often in the past, the Boys in Green were able to rely upon returning skipper Robbie Keane to get them out of trouble. The 33-year-old, who missed Friday night's 3-0 Group C defeat in Germany with an ankle injury, converted a 16th-minute penalty for his 61st goal in the green jersey. John O'Shea, whose last and only previous senior international strike came against Australia in 2003, who fired Ireland ahead from point-blank range as he pounced on keeper Andrey Sidelnikov's 26th-minute error. Ireland dominated the second half and might have increased their lead on several occasions before the unfortunate Shomko turned substitute Aiden McGeady's cross into his own goal. It all meant interim boss Noel King emerged from his two-game spell in charge with the win he craved, and with the approach he took largely vindicated. It was King who decided to call-up midfielder Andy Reid and striker Anthony Stokes, who had been discarded by Giovanni Trapattoni, to the squad with Reid in particular making the most of his first game for his country since November 2007. However, another of the men he invited back in from the cold, midfielder Darron Gibson, departed prematurely in far less auspicious circumstances after he collapsed in agony following a 35th-minute challenge and, in front of watching Everton manager Roberto Martinez, was carried from the field on a stretcher with suspected knee ligament damage. An FAI statement issued via its Twitter account said: "Darron Gibson has been assessed by our team doc and will return to his club tomorrow for a scan with suspected knee ligament damage."
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