A late equaliser from Vakhtang Kvaratskelia denied Republic of Ireland Under-21s victory in Georgia.

Qualification hangs in the balance after fourth successive draw

The Republic of Ireland had to settle for a fourth consecutive draw in their European Under 21 Championship qualifying campaign after being held by Georgia in Tbilisi. Substitute Graham Carey gave Don Givens' side the lead just after half-time but were denied all three points when Vakhtang Kvaratskelia equalised late in the game. The draw leaves the Republic second from bottom in qualifying Group Two with only four points from their first five contests. Both sides had chances to open the scoring in the first half, with Jano Ananidze featuring for the hosts and Sean Scannell prominent for the away side. But it was Carey, a 44th-minute replacement for Scannell, who broke the deadlock three minutes after the break. The Republic had chances to build on their lead but were made to pay for the squandered opportunities when Kvaretskeila struck with six minutes to go. Ireland now face another away tie against Armenia on Wednesday with their hopes of qualification hanging by a thread.