After their instrumental roles in achieving a play-off spot, returning Shane Long and Jonathan Walters can carry Ireland over the finishing line
Having emerged from the impenetrable fog in Zenica with a hard-earned draw on Friday night, qualification for Euro 2016 is now very much in sight for the Republic of Ireland.
That such a result should be accompanied by a valuable away goal ought to bode even better for Martin O’Neill’s men – provided that the added security it provides inspires them to be courageous rather than cautious.
After all, Ireland have plenty of reason to be confident of seeing the job through.
They have not lost at the Aviva in a competitive game for more than two years, winning five and drawing two of their last seven at home.
They have won both of their last two in Dublin against Georgia and world champions Germany by a scoreline of one goal to nil – a result that would be enough to see them through on Monday and that they are 19/4 to repeat.
The winners on both of those occasions came in the second half, with Ireland 9/2 to be level at the break once again before emerging victorious by final whistle.
The players to provide the breakthrough in those matches, meanwhile, were Jonathan Walters and Shane Long – with both returning after missing the first leg through suspension and injury respectively.
Robbie Keane may top the Irish goal-scoring charts during qualifying, but with all five of his goals coming against rock-bottom Gibraltar, it is Long and Walters who have proven themselves throughout the campaign to be the men for the big occasion.
Having netted three each, between them they have accounted for five of the eight goals scored against the rest of the group which were enough to secure eight of the 18 points that earned Ireland their play-off berth.
As the players most likely to press home Ireland’s advantage, both are 11/2 to mark their return by scoring first and 11/5 to net at any time.
Bosnia’s main threat on the other hand comes in the form of Edin Dzeko.
The Roma striker has three goals in his last three appearances and eight in his last nine internationals and is also 11/5 to score at any time.
A clean sheet – priced at 7/5 – this time around would be enough to secure qualification, although Ireland have only managed to shut out the opposition in two of their last nine competitive matches that were not against Gibraltar.
For all the temptation to protect their advantage from Friday’s first leg, it is Ireland’s attack rather than their defence that is most likely to secure their place in France.
