Five things from Republic of Ireland 1-1 Scotland

The Republic of Ireland are still fourth in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group D yet will see the home draw with Scotland as a missed opportunity. The Irish remain two points and one place behind their opponents but, with only four games remaining – and the section's top two, world champions Germany and Poland, in their last two fixtures – time is running out. Gareth Maher looks at what the match in Dublin told us.

Ireland's hopes hanging by a thread
The Republic of Ireland pushed and pushed but just could not find a winning goal in the second half on Saturday – and that could come back to haunt them. Winless in their previous three qualifiers, Martin O'Neill's team needed victory here to boost their chances of automatic qualification but an own goal from John O'Shea means they face a difficult challenge in trying to catch Poland, Germany and Scotland in Group D.

Maloney does it again
Ireland supporters were once again left ruing the contribution of Shaun Maloney, who spoiled their night for the second time in this qualification campaign. The Chicago Fire midfielder claimed the only goal when the sides met in Glasgow last November and his shot deflected off O'Shea to cancel out Jon Walters's opener. Scotland manager Gordon Strachan said that a "fantastic player made the difference" in reference to his star man.

Ireland lacking a Plan B 
Operating in a 4-4-1-1 formation, Ireland played in a positive manner as they looked to zip the ball into frontman Daryl Murphy as often as possible, although that became a predictable tactic. Scotland quickly figured out that the Ipswich Town FC forward was the main target for crosses and set pieces, so they set up to defend against that. The Republic simply did not get the ball into playmaker Wesley Hoolahan as much as they should have and a lack of a Plan B was evident.

Old warriors set to bow out
This might be the beginning of the end for some of Ireland's veteran players, like O'Shea, Shay Given and Robbie Keane. The trio can still contribute in the remaining four qualifiers, yet O'Neill may start to consider introducing younger players and rebuilding his squad. If he does, then some of Ireland's talented Under-21s could be called up, with Darren Randolph, Richard Keogh and Harry Arter likely to play big roles.

Scotland on the rise
This draw gives Scotland 11 points and two of their last four qualifiers will be played at home while their away games are against Georgia and Gibraltar, although perhaps a more notable advantage is their team spirit. Strachan said each of his players have given big performances and their target is clearly automatic qualification for next summer's finals in France. If they can keep this going, that dream could come true.