The Republic of Ireland produced a performance against Moldova that was, at least, better than their display against Georgia on Thursday.

Six points from the two games is, on paper at least, a satisfactory outcome from this weekend’s rounds of fixtures – they now sit in second in the group level on points with leaders Serbia.

Tougher tests will come of course, starting next month in Vienna, but Sunday night was a timely reminder of why Wes Hoolahan is so important to this team.

That was made clear within two minutes of the game commencing, as a brilliant through-ball from the 34-year-old Norwich playmaker was put away by Shane Long to put Ireland 1-0 in front. And just like that, Hoolahan in one second had provided more creativity than the team had mustered in 90 minutes against Georgia.

What followed was a period of Irish pressure without the penetration to finish it off, but that was not through a lack of trying on Hoolahan’s part. He was constantly looking for the ball and to work out clever new ways to unlock the Moldovan defence in front of him.

He faded a bit in the second half and some of his passes became a bit more wayward, but in the absence of Jeff Hendrick and Robbie Brady he was given the pressure of supplying most of Ireland’s creativity on his own. In that sense, it’s no surprise that he grew tired.

Hendrick and Brady being missing was (and will be) interesting, because it is hard to know if Hoolahan would have played if both, or even one, had been available.

In an awkward away match an Ireland manager is nearly always going to light the Bat-Signal to send for Glenn Whelan, but did Hoolahan only start because O’Neill’s side would have been so devoid of creativity without him that they may have struggled hugely to break down the Moldovan rearguard without him?

Again, it’s hard to know, and it’s a question O’Neill certainly won’t be answering, but it does make the team selection for the match in Austria that bit more intriguing. James McClean has solidified his place in the team now thanks to his last few performances in an Ireland shirt, while Brady still has untouchable status after the Euro 2016 heroics, so where does that leave the Irish midfield?

Given what he has done for the national team in the last couple of years it is diffcult to even contemplate, but perhaps Jonathan Walters’ time as an automatic starter is coming to an end. In his injury-enforced absence in France, the team grew as the tournament went on, and his displays since coming back into the team haven’t been to his previous standard.

Especially when it comes to playing against teams like Moldova, for which Ireland don’t need to be quite so physical or defensively minded, a midfield five of McCarthy, Hendrick, Hoolahan, McClean and Brady (in whatever order and formation O’Neill deems appropriate) might be the way to go.

Either way, that is something for O’Neill to ponder. Hoolahan is far too big and too important as a creative talent to be used on the bench or as an impact sub – he needs to be working his magic right from the start.

All of this can be traced back into O’Neill’s conservatism, which is fine when Ireland are playing much better opposition, but sometimes this team just needs to be let of the leash. The manager claimed the other the day that his is not a side that will put teams away, but why not?

Giving the opponents respect is all well and good, but Wales beat Moldova 4-0, Serbia 3-0 – if Ireland have aspirations of winning the group then certain teams just need to be put to the sword far sooner. Moldova were, with the greatest of respect to them, there for the taking and it was hard work on Sunday when it really didn’t need to be.

And make no mistake, this is a group Ireland are capable of winning. The other results on Sunday – Wales drawing with Georgia, Serbia beating Austria – showed that there will be no runaway winner here, the contenders will all take points off each other and the bravest nation will be left on top of the pile at the end of it all.

The Group D standings after tonight’s results pic.twitter.com/t4zuYAOMHm — RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 9, 2016

The last time Ireland were involved in such a close campaign was in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where only a 1-0 defeat to France in Dublin prevented a four-way tie at the top of the group with Israel and Switzerland the other teams involved. In fact, that that French winner was the only victory out of any game involving those four nations.

That can’t be allowed to happen again. It might take O’Neill straying slightly from his conservative instincts, but Hoolahan simply must start against Austria. From there, if there is so much as a hint of victory, they have to seize it.

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Read More About: Ireland, james mccarthy, james mcclean, jeff hendrick, jonathan walters, Martin O'Neill, robbie brady, wes hoolahan, world cup 2018