Caoimhín Kelleher (Liverpool)
Had one admittedly simple save to make early in the second half when Egan's block took all the pace off Chernykh's shot. But otherwise may as well have brought a newspaper with him. Rating: 6
Nathan Collins (Burnley)
Solid night's work from arguably Ireland's best young defensive prospect. Classy in defence when Lithuania attempted a couple of surges on the break, showed some nice footwork when he ventured up the field. Rating: 7
John Egan (Sheffield United)
Had an armchair ride in the middle of the defence. Showed good awareness to pull his foot away when Chernykh attempted to buy a penalty with 15 to go. Came close to a goal with his 89th-minute header. Rating: 6
Dara O’Shea (West Brom)
Worth saying it's good to have him back after six months out. But that's about all that's worth saying. Had nothing to do and came off after getting an hour into his legs. Rating: 5
Matt Doherty (Spurs)
Better in the second half after spending the opening period wandering infield far too much. Almost scored after a snaking run cutting in from the right to draw a smart save. A late shot was just wide too. Rating: 6
Alan Browne (Preston)
Filled the Josh Cullen role but wasn't anywhere near as busy or as probing. Ireland needed someone to show invention in tight areas but Browne seemed content to sit and mind a shop that didn't particularly require minding. Rating: 5
Conor Hourihane (Sheffield United)
Frustrating night. Sloppy in open play and oddly casual with the dead ball. One beautiful early pass put Manning away but for someone of his ability, it was a rare eye-catching moment. Unlucky to have his goal chalked off – Robinson owes him for that one. Rating: 5
Ryan Manning (Swansea City)
One of the brighter sparks on a dull night. Flashed an early shot from a corner that had the keeper diving. Put in a zippy cross soon after for Ogbene but the goal was ruled offside. Slotted into the back three after O'Shea went off. Rating: 7
Chiedozie Ogbene (Rotherham United)
Couldn't quite get into it. Went a smidge too soon for Manning's cross and so he was offside for that early goal. Parrott delayed his pass to McClean too long for the one in the second half, depriving him again. Rating: 5
Will Keane (Wigan Athletic)
Not his kind of rodeo. Far too many bodies around anytime Ireland tried to thread passes around the edge of the visitors' box and wasn't served a cross of any quality. Could be useful in some scenarios – just not this one. Rating: 5
Callum Robinson (West Brom)
Got swallowed up in the traffic. Tried a few tricks here and there but couldn't get any foothold in the game. Won the odd corner but that was about the height of it. Rating: 5
Substitutes
Troy Parrott was the match-winner. Probably man of the match too, even though he only played the last half-hour. Along with James McClean, he was bright and penetrative. Scott Hogan had a goal disallowed. Jeff Hendrick and Jason Knight were part of the general wave of pressure that finally brought the winner. Rating: 8
Stephen Kenny (manager)
Ireland need to be better at this specific type of task. Keeping the ball against the big teams is admirable but too often, they turn into conservative, lateral ball-minders against weaker opposition. Kenny's team faced nothing they didn't expect here, yet a breakthrough never looked on until the very last seconds. Could bite them at a crucial point down the road. Rating: 5
