Dublin: Shane Long was the hometown hero as his 90th minute goal in a 1-1 draw with Poland at Lansdowne Road on Sunday night kept Ireland's Euro 2016 dreams alive. It looked for so long as if Slawomir Peszko's first-half goal would give Poland all three points and all but end Ireland's ambitions of going to France next year.


Republic of Ireland's striker Shane Long (R) scores their late equalizer past Poland's goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (3rd R) during the Euro 2016 qualifying football match between Republic of Ireland and Poland at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Pic/AFP 

But the hosts fought back from a poor first half performance to dominate the second, hitting the post twice before substitute Long's late, late show gave them a deserved point. It could be a key goal in Ireland's Euro campaign, as Martin O'Neill's side would have been six points off the pace had Poland matched Germany and Scotland, who also enjoyed Group D victories on Sunday.