IRELAND has fought off a determined Australia to take a thrilling Second International Rules Test by four points in front of 42,823 fans at the MCG on Friday night.
A Drew Petrie goal in the dying stages set up a frantic finale to the series, but the Irish side hung on to record the 4.8.9 (57) to 3.8.11 (53) victory.
The result, on the back of Ireland's one-point win in the First Test, saw the visitors take the series 2-0 and even the all-time series record at seven wins each.
Benny Coulter scored two goals with Kieran Donaghy and Enda McGinley adding one each while Shaun Burgoyne and Marc Murphy found Australia's other two in the reasonably high-scoring affair.
Kade Simpson followed up his good first-up performance with 28 possessions to be awarded the Jim Stynes Medal as Australia's best player of the series, while Matthew Boyd (25 possessions) and Brent Harvey (22) were also stand-outs for the home side.
Graham Canty, with 28 disposals, got the nod as the best Irish player with skipper Sean Cavanagh brilliant with 20 possessions and four overs and recently delisted Brisbane Lion Colm Begley also prominent with 20 touches.
The expected improvement from the Aussies after an emphatic finish to the First Test was immediately evident as Burgoyne and Daniel Wells gave their country an early lead with an over each.
When Campbell Brown finished off a good run by Matthew Campbell with a three-pointer the Aussies led by nine, but Cavanagh kept his country within striking distance with the last two overs of the term – slicing the margin to three points.
The Irish onslaught of the second quarter caught both the Australian team and the stunned crowd by surprise as Michael Firrito, who didn't fare a lot better than Nathan Bock as 'keeper, conceded two goals and a deficit became an 18-point lead.
Donaghy and McGinley did the damage with Cavanagh adding his fourth over to leave the hosts all at sea and struggling to even move the ball into an attacking position.
Michael Osborne was thrown forward to add some spark and the Hawthorn premiership player obliged with a deft gather and snapped shot – landing Australia's only three-pointer of the term after 18 minutes.
The half-time deficit of 15 points could so easily have been larger, if not for a brilliant clearing punch by Bock on the goal-line.
Paddy Bradley slotted an over to start the second half brightly for the Irish, but Australia came marching back into the contest.
Jared Brennan started the run with a clever checkside three-pointer and, after peppering the goals, the Aussies finally scored their first goal of the series when Murphy punched the ball into the net from a goal skirmish inside the box.
But with their lead cut to just six points the Irish hit back hard in the dying minutes of the term with Firrito beaten again, this time by Coulter, with Donaghy's over seconds before the three-quarter time siren restoring a 17-point advantage.
Petrie had been well held, but his two overs early in the final term gave the home fans hope and the crowd was on its feet when Burgoyne coolly slotted the ball past Irish goalkeeper David Gallagher.
But Coulter's second followed almost immediately to dampen Aussie spirits before the final desperate minutes that ended in Irish jubilation.
Australia 0.4.3 (15) 0.5.6 (21) 1.6.9 (33) 3.8.11 (53)
Ireland 0.3.3 (12) 2.6.6 (36) 3.8.8 (50) 4.8.9 (57)
GOALS (6 points)
Australia: Burgoyne, Murphy, Petrie
Ireland: Coulter 2, Donaghy, McGinley
OVERS (3 points)
Australia: Petrie 2, Wells 2, Brennan, Brown, Burgoyne, Osborne
Ireland: Cavanagh 4, Bradley, Coulter, Donaghy, Finlay
BEST
Australia: Crowley, Simpson, Boyd, Harvey, Petrie
Ireland: Canty, Coulter, Cavanagh, Glynn, Bradley
INJURIES
Australia: Nil
Ireland: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stephen McBurney (Aus), Pat McEnaney (Ire)
Official crowd: 42,823 at the MCG
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.