It was a 'bite your hand off for a draw'-type fixture in Vienna, but James McClean's superb goal saw Ireland make a bit of history on Saturday night.
One of Irish football's most notorious bogey teams, Austria faced a depleted Ireland looking for a way back into Group D. They finished the night six points behind Ireland, who remained in top spot thanks to a 1-1 draw between Wales and Serbia in Cardiff.
It was a massive win for this Irish team and, perhaps, for Irish football, in the sense that it ended a number of worrying trends and unwanted records. Here are five stats which put the victory in its full context:
1) Ireland's first competitive away win over a higher-ranked opponent since 1987
When Mark Lawrenson scored the winner after six minutes in front of 45,000 fans at Hampden Park, surely not one Irish fan could have predicted it would be the final time Ireland would travel for a qualifier and beat a team ranked higher than them by FIFA for 29 years. Even now, it seems an absurd notion.
And yet James McClean's winner almost three decades later would be a goal which not only earned Ireland a valuable three points, but one which broke his country's duck away to 'the bigger teams'.
2) Ireland's first away win over a higher-ranked opponent from OUTSIDE of Britain since 1967
As pointed out by our friend and League of Ireland aficionado John Dodge, you have to go back almost half a century to the last time Ireland beat a higher-ranked team from outside of the UK away from home in competitive football.
Looked it up. Last time Ireland beat a higher ranked (non British) opponent away in a competitive international; v Czechoslovakia in 1967
— Dodge (@seidodge) November 12, 2016
An 86th minute winner by Turlough O'Connor in front of less than 8,000 fans that day in Prague would be the last time Ireland travelled further than across the Irish Sea for a European or World Cup qualifier and won until victory in Austria tonight.
3)Ireland's rotten competitive run against Austria comes to an end
Ireland have now played Austria 15 times, winning on three occasions and losing nine.
Of Ireland and Austria's six competitive fixtures between Ireland's 3-2 Nations Cup qualifying triumph in 1963 and Saturday's fantastic result in Vienna, Austria won five, with Ireland's sole result being a 2-2 home draw in 2013 (Consider Saturday night our revenge, David Alaba).
Saturday's win was Ireland's first over Austria in 53 years, and our first ever victory - competitive or otherwise - on Austrian soil.
4) Austria's unbeaten home run comes to an end
Austria were unbeaten in home qualifiers since a 2-1 Germany win in Vienna back in 2012. In the intervening four years, they hadn't lost in 10 home qualifiers - for either the Euros or the World Cup. Ireland ended that run on Saturday evening.
5) Martin O'Neill's reign is bringing the biggest results since Mick McCarthy
It was well documented when Ireland beat Germany last September that it was the national team's first competitive win over a higher-ranked outfit since victory over the Netherlands 14 years previous. In the intervening 14 months, Ireland have beaten three further teams ranked above them by FIFA: Bosnia, Italy and now Austria.
Wales, beware.
SEE ALSO: Martin O'Neill Critical Of Robbie Brady Over Yellow Card In Vienna
