The result was never really in doubt as the gulf in footballing ability was obvious, with Kevin Kilbane, Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane all finding the back of the net for Ireland in their second European qualifier against Andorra in Dublin last night.
But Andorra may have won over a few critics with their combative display, and they even managed to notch a goal of their own through Christian Martinez's thunderbolt.
Giovanni Trapattoni's team never really got out of second gear but they won't mind as they kept up their 100 per cent record in Group B.
Ireland set their stall out to attack at every opportunity, with Keane and Aiden McGeady standing out with their offensive intent.
McGeady's trickery was running rings around the Andorra defence, and it only seemed a matter of time before the minnows' backline would be breached.
And so it proved as in the 14th minute, Liam Lawrence's pinpoint corner-kick was headed home at the near post by a grateful Kilbane, winning his 106th cap for his country.
In fairness to Andorra, they managed to weather the storm after the goal, but Lawrence almost made it 2-0 on the half-hour mark when he chipped the ball over the keeper but just on the wrong side of the net.
The gap between the Andorran midfield and rearguard was widening with every passing minute as the Irish professionals' fitness levels came into play.
But it was something truly special that doubled Ireland's lead, as Doyle turned inside just outside the right-hand side of the box, before powering a left-footed wonder strike into the corner of the goal.
It was a brilliant goal with the Wolves man using very little backlift, as the ball swerved from right to left past unwitting Andorran keeper Josep Gomes.
Andorra's spirit was undeterred by Doyle's magic though and not long after they had a spectacular strike of their own to celebrate.
Defender Martinez, completely out of the blue, hit a right-footed volley as purely as any player could wish to from outside the area that whistled past Shay Given.
Ireland boss Trapattoni's smiles and high-fives with his assistants soon turned into frosty stares of anger, as he berated his players for not closing Martinez down quicker.
The goal seemed to rattle the home side going into half-time and it showed for the first eight minutes or so after the interval until Keane restored the two-goal advantage and normal service resumed.
Trapattoni's men tried a little more passing and a bit more patience and it paid off as the Tottenham striker scored his 44th international goal with a deft chip over the onrushing Gomes.
Ireland were denied a stonewall penalty as Fernando Silva wrestled Doyle to the ground, but bizarrely Cypriot referee Leontios Trattou barely batted an eyelid.
Trapattoni's charges tried to find another goal to add some gloss to the scoreline but it wasn't to be and they seemed quite content to leave field with the three points in the bag.
Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has resisted the temptation to make alterations to his team for tomorrow's Euro 2012 qualifier against Andorra.
Trap will field the same 11 players who started Friday evening's 1-0 win in Armenia in the first competitive international at the new Lansdowne Road.
That means keeper Shay Given will line up behind a back four of John O'Shea, Richard Dunne, Sean St Ledger and Kevin Kilbane, while Glenn Whelan retains his place in a midfield four also including Liam Lawrence, Paul Green and Aiden McGeady despite having been booked in Yerevan.
Skipper Robbie Keane will once again partner Kevin Doyle in attack, although Trapattoni intends to give other players a chance from the bench, providing that the game goes the way he hopes.
And Robbie Keane is ready to make up for lost time against Andorra tomorrow night after passing up the opportunity to move himself closer to membership of an elite club.
The Ireland skipper had one strike ruled out for offside, hit the post and fired wide from the kind of chance he converts with almost monotonous regularity during Friday night’s 1-0 Euro 2012 qualifier victory in Armenia.
As a result, he failed to add to his current tally of 43 goals in 101 senior appearances for his country and home in on the half-century which would establish him among world football’s most prolific goalscorers.
The list of men to have broken through that barrier includes the likes of Pele, Ferenc Puskas, Gerd Muller and Gabriel Batistuta, and it would be a major achievement for Keane to add his name to an illustrious roll-call.
However, while that target is understandably in the Tottenham striker’s mind, he does not mind who scores Ireland’s goals in the current qualifying campaign as long as they get the points they need to reach the finals.
Keane said: “It is, yes. I don’t want to jump the gun too quickly, but now that I am climbing close to it, of course it would be great to achieve that.
“To be in the bracket with the players who are already there and have already achieved that would be a great honour.
“But at the same time, there are still a few goals to go, so I wouldn’t be thinking about that too much.”
On paper, Andorra’s visit to Dublin for Ireland’s first competitive game at the Aviva Stadium represents a glorious opportunity for Keane to take a significant step towards reaching 50 goals for his country.
However, the man who scored a hat-trick against San Marino in the last competitive international at the old Lansdowne Road, is taking nothing for granted.
He said: “At the end of the day, I never set targets. That would be very naive of me and disrespectful to the other team.
“As a striker, it is always important to score goals and get your confidence up, but whether I score tomorrow or anyone else, the most important thing is the three points.
“Our aim is to win every game by scoring as many goals as possible, but under different circumstances in different games, it is not as easy as you think.
“Certainly, international football now is not as easy as it used to be, even six, seven years ago. Teams are a lot tighter now.”
That said, Ireland were able to open up the Armenian rearguard repeatedly on Friday, only for their captain to suffer an uncharacteristically unproductive evening in front of goal.
However, he insists he will not dwell on those misses as he attempts to start his total ticking over once again.
The 30-year-old said: “You just forget about it. It has happened to me loads of times before in the past and it will certainly happen to me in the future.
“I will miss chances and I will score chances, but I never really let my head go down about things because another chance will always come along.
“As you get older, you get more experienced. When you are younger, you want to kill yourself sometimes, but as you get older, you realise that plenty more chances will come.
“I am not really too worried about it. It would be great to score a lot of goals in this campaign, but if I didn’t score a lot of goals in this campaign and we qualified, then...”
Ireland skipper Robbie Keane will be fit for Tuesday night's Euro 2012 qualifier against Andorra after he suffered no reaction to his knee injury in last night's 1-0 win over Armenia.
The 30-year-old striker, who has been struggling with the problem, was substituted shortly after Keith Fahey's winning goal at the Yerevan Republican Stadium last night.
However, manager Giovanni Trapattoni revealed today that he took him off simply as a precaution.
He said: 'I gave him a little bit of a rest because he had, not an injury, but some pain and I wanted to be cautious about it.'
Meanwhile, Ipswich defender Darren O'Dea was expected to resume training today after recovering from a sprained knee, while Hull counterpart Paul McShane has rejoined the squad after missing the Armenia game with a hamstring problem.
However, Fulham winger Damien Duff remains sidelined by a calf strain.
Super sub Keith Fahey launched Ireland's Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a hard-fought victory in Armenia.
The Birmingham midfielder struck his first senior international goal after 76 minutes to edge the Irish past Vardan Minasyan's men at the sweltering Yerevan Republican Stadium.
No-one will have been more delighted than captain Robbie Keane, who passed up a glorious early chance, had a goal ruled out for offside and then hit the post on a night when things did not go for him in the final third.
However, there was as much relief as pleasure as he and his team-mates left the pitch having been put to the test by their hosts.
Armenia gave as good as they got and although goalkeeper Shay Given had few saves to make which genuinely taxed him, the home side were quick, direct and technically gifted and were certainly no push-over.
Indeed, in playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan, they had arguably the best player on the pitch, and the Republic will hope Armenia can take points from some of their rivals when they visit the Yerevan Republican Stadium.
The win sends Ireland into Tuesday's home clash with Group B minnows Andorra knowing a perfect start would set the up very nicely for what lies ahead.
Manager Giovanni Trapattoni admitted at his pre-match press conference in Yerevan that he would happily settle for a 1-0 win from what he promised would be a tricky fixture, and if anyone doubted his voracity, they were soon disabused of the notion.
Armenia, who have beaten both Poland and Belgium in their capital city in recent years, were far from over-awed by the task with which they were presented, and with the impressive Mkhitaryan, Shakhtar Donetsk's recent #5.8million acquisition, pulling the strings behind lone striker Yura Movsisyan, they made life intensely difficult for the visitors.
Mkhitaryan treated Derby midfielder Paul Green to a torrid welcome to competitive international football, while wide men Edgar Malakyan and Levon Pachajyan kept full-backs John O'Shea and Kevin Kilbane on the toes throughout the opening 45 minutes.
For all that, the Republic could have gone in at the break comfortably in front.
Keane might have put them ahead within eight minutes, but volleyed agonisingly wide from Kevin Doyle's flick-on with just goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky to beat, and he thought he had done so 10 minutes before the break when he shot home from Glenn Whelan's free-kick, only for an offside flag to ruin his celebrations.
However, perhaps the best chance fell to central defender Sean St Ledger, whose powerful 22nd-minute header from an Aiden McGeady corner was palmed away by Berezovsky.
Given had to save from Karlen Mkrtchyan and Pachajyan in quick succession, and he was grateful to see Movsisyan volley over 14 minutes before the break.
Trapattoni sent his side back into battle knowing they were in a game, and they were almost caught out within five minutes when Movsisyan combined well with full-back Artak Erdigaryan, but then overhit his through-ball to the supporting Mkhitaryan.
Mkhitaryan forced another save from Given and Mkrtchyan hooked just wide with Armenia sensing a genuine opportunity, and there was an anxious moment for the Ireland goalkeeper when defender Richard Dunne's headed clearance looped just over his own crossbar.
But as the home side forged forward in search of the opening goal, they left space at the back and Doyle almost exploited that 19 minutes from time with a powerful drive which Berezovsky had to palm away.
In the meantime, Trapattoni had replaced McGeady with Fahey, and it was he who finally put the visitors in front with 14 minutes remaining.
Armenia could not clear their lines as Keane and then Doyle made nuisances of themselves, and when the ball broke to the Birmingham midfielder, he smashed it past Berezovsky to snatch victory.
In a tense finish to the game, the home side penned Ireland back inside their own half, but stout defence won the day as Trapattoni's men once again ensured that one goal was enough.
Ireland captain Robbie Keane and central defender Richard Dunne have both been named in the team to face Armenia in tomorrow's Euro 2012 qualifier in Yerevan.
Keane is battling a knee problem while Dunne has missed several days' training this week with a muscle problem.
However, both were expected to take part in the session at the Yerevan Republican Stadium this evening and be available for the game.
Dunne will line up in a back four alongside Sean St Ledger with John O'Shea and Kevin Kilbane as the full-backs, while the midfield will comprise Liam Lawrence, Paul Green, Glenn Whelan and Aiden McGeady.
Keane, who will win his 101st senior international cap, will partner Kevin Doyle in attack.
Ireland team to face Armenia in Yerevan tomorrow
Shay Given, John O'Shea, Sean Saint Ledger, Richard Dunne, Kevin Kilbane, Liam Lawrence, Glenn Whelan, Paul Green, Aiden McGeady, Robbie Keane, Kevin Doyle.
Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has hailed the maturity of new signing Marc Wilson and feels the Irish international will add competition to his midfield options at Stoke.
Pulis told the club's website: "I wanted to freshen the squad up with some young players, and Marc certainly fits that criteria.
"He showed great maturity last season in what was a very difficult time for Portsmouth, so he will give us more competition for midfield places."
County Antrim born Wilson is also delighted to be back in the Premier League after suffering relegation with cash-strapped Pompey last season.
He added on the club's website: "This is a great club which is on the up and so this is a positive move for me.
"I had a taste of playing in the Premier League last season; it's the best league in the world and I wanted to get back there as soon as possible."
Wilson will also be hoping that his move back to the Premiership will increase his chances of featuring in Giovanni Trapattoni's plans for the European championship qualifiers over the next twelve months.
Celtic new recruit Anthony Stokes says he has arrived at the club a more mature player after completing a transfer deadline day move.
Irish international Stokes put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal at the Glasgow giants following a reported £1.2million switch from SPL rivals Hibernian.
The deal has brought the 22-year-old to Parkhead three years after turning down the Old Firm club, who made overtures for the Irishman in 2007.
Stokes opted to join Sunderland instead, but after a punctuated spell in England, has finally made his way to Celtic.
And now he believes the move has come at the right time after returning to Scotland with Hibs last season.
Stokes said: "I went to Sunderland and made a lot of mistakes and I'm glad I didn't do that here because I wouldn't have the opportunity that I have today to come here and hopefully score a lot of goals and try to be here for as long as possible.
"I was probably a bit more immature then. I'm sure I still have a lot more to learn but coming here on the back of the goals I scored last year (23 in all competitions) with Hibs will give me confidence as well."
Stokes endured a frustrating time at Sunderland, scoring just five goals in 38 games in a spell that included loan stints at Sheffield United and Crystal Palace.
His return north of the border to John Hughes' side last August helped him revitalise his career - something the striker is grateful for.
Stokes went on: "I knew I was going to have to start from the bottom again and build myself up. I wasn't playing any games, even reserves.
"I was lucky a club like Hibs came in for me. I was sitting in Sunderland rotting away and as soon as the gaffer was in for me again, I knew it would be a good move for me."
And after finalising terms with Neil Lennon's side, the front man is keen to settle in a Celtic shirt.
He concluded: "Hopefully I can do well and settle here. It's been in the papers for the last few days how many clubs I have had. If it was up to me I would sign a contract for the rest of my career."
Hibernian have agreed a fee with Celtic for Ireland striker Anthony Stokes, according to Sky Sports News.
Neil Lennon admitted he was keen to bring the former Sunderland man to Celtic Park earlier this week and could be getting his man by Monday.
Dublin born Stokes, who scored 23 goals last season, turned out during Hib's 1-0 defeat to St Mirren on Sunday and his manager John Hughes believed the unfolding transfer affected the stikers' performance.
"I felt he was poor, but I can understand it with everything on his mind," said Hughes.
"Sometimes you play on emotions and if it was to be his last game I thought he might go out with a bang, but it didn't materialise."
SSN are reporting that West Ham have now entered the race to sign Portsmouth captain Marc Wilson.
The 23-year-old Irish international defender is subject to interest from a number of top-flight sides, with West Brom having already had a £3million bid turned down.
Fulham are also keen, while Stoke are thought to be lining up a player-plus-cash deal for the defender - with Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence discussing moves in the opposite direction - estimated to be worth around £3.5m.
But Avram Grant's West Ham have now also made an approach, as they are eager to shore up a leaky defence which has already conceded six goals in their opening two Premier League defeats.
Pompey boss Steve Cotterill previously admitting he would be powerless to prevent the County Antrim born defender from leaving Fratton Park if the club receive the right offer
Wolves mananger Mick McCarthy has revealed that Irish striker Andy Keogh is to join Cardiff City.
McCarthy left the Dublin born reland international out of his side's 2-1 Carling Cup win over Southend on Tuesday so the player is not cup-tied.
"It's a racing certainty that Andy will be going to Cardiff," said McCarthy.
Keogh, 24, will join Bluebirds signings Craig Bellamy, Seyi Olofinjana, Danny Drinkwater, Jason Koumas, Lee Naylor and Tom Heaton in south Wales.
Keogh has scored 49 goals in 180 competitive appearances for Leeds, Scunthorpe, Bury and Premier League Wolves since 2004 and is now set to join the Bluebirds bid to win promotion from the Championship.
McCarthy told Wolves' website: "He didn't want to be cup tied and Cardiff didn't want him to be cup tied and it was a chance for us to give Ashley Hemmings a game [against Southend].
"Andy has been fabulous here both for me and this football club. It's a good move for him to go to Cardiff and good luck to him.
"He wants to play football and doesn't want to be fourth in line here which I can fully understand.
"It was my decision to let him go but he goes with our best wishes and warmest regards."
Keogh has scored 49 goals in 180 competitive appearances for Leeds, Scunthorpe, Bury and Wolves.
West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo has not ruled out a renewed bid for Ireland international Marc Wilson but he admits that it will be difficult to force a deal when Portsmouth are not willing to sell their most promising player.
Pompey boss Steve Cotterill revealed last week that his club had rejected a bid from the Premier League Baggies for his County Antrim born captain, with skysports.com having broken the news earlier in August.
Wilson has been excellent for Portsmouth in the opening matches of this season and his versatility makes him an attractive prospect for top-flight new boys West Brom.
Di Matteo has remained evasive when questioned about the possibility of making another approach for Wilson but he does acknowledge that Cotterill is unlikely to sell one of his best players.
"We made an offer for Wilson and it's been rejected," the West Brom boss told the Birmingham Mail. "As he is not our player I won't comment too much on it.
"It's difficult to say what will happen because if a club doesn't want to sell we can't do much."
