Visitors beaten to the punch

International Rules Second Test/Ireland - 55 Australia - 41: From the punch-up that briefly threatened anarchy before the match had even started to the emotional conclusion when Brendan and Brigid McAnallen presented the cup named after their late son Cormac to Ireland captain Pádraic Joyce the Coca-Cola International Rules series got back on track at Croke Park yesterday.

After the aberration of their huge first-Test deficit Australia gave a far better account of themselves and could feel slightly unlucky to lose by 14 points given they were denied goals by a dramatic save from the excellent Stephen Cluxton and a controversial and bitterly disputed refereeing decision just before half-time.

But Ireland stood up to the escalating physical challenge, absorbed the fire and fury of the opening half, regrouped to break their opponents in the third quarter and eased home in the final 20 minutes.

Once the match settled Ireland found enough of their rhythm to move the ball with some of the previous week's pace and fluency. It was enough to sustain a performance that ensured there would be no scares along the way about the series' outcome.

If that quickly became an irrelevance, the main business of the afternoon was in the balance for 50 minutes. The Australians had acknowledged during the week their primary ambition would be to win the second Test and hope that a window of opportunity might open to give them a glimpse of the series.

Ireland, for their part, were conscious an aggregate series win would be a massive disappointment after last week's annihilation of the visitors. It never came to that and manager Pete McGrath had the considerable satisfaction of only the third clean sweep in the series' history and a record aggregate winning margin.

It was also gratifying to win in the face of a full-blooded challenge. Ireland never looked as menacing on the ball as a week previously because the tackles were coming in hard and the ensuing jitters saw the home team struggle to create and take the chances that had cascaded their way in the first Test.

McGrath said he couldn't be sure how the pre-match melee affected his players and whether it put them off their stride in the early stages. It looked as if Seán Ó hAilpin and Tadhg Kennelly had been targeted just as the teams were lining up but no action was taken against any player and it remains to be seen whether the joint GAA-AFL disciplinary control committee will review video evidence of the encounter.

Within a minute of the throw-in Australian captain James Hird and Joe Bergin had both been sin-binned for brawling as the referees sought to re-establish control - at least over the human participants.

Even at that early stage the football had become something of a sideshow.

A dog had managed to wander on to the field at the start and, inexplicably, was allowed to stay there for nearly eight minutes.

Neither of the referees thought (nor were they instructed by radio link) to stop the match until the field had been cleared and the GAA were very lucky none of the players was injured.

It was immediately obvious in play Australia were far tighter and more revved up than in the first Test. The hits went in and the tackles put their targets down. There were no sweeping moves from Ireland tearing the Australian defence apart - the first-quarter total was 16 down on the previous week - and part of the price for this adjustment was they were under greater pressure at the back.

Seán Cavanagh showed well in that opening 20 minutes, galloping through for two overs, but the attacking patterns were ragged as time and space weren't anything like as cheaply available as in the first test. Nonetheless Ciarán McDonald was again impressive even in the more straitened circumstances.

He had clearly been targeted after last week's display of his distributive talents but not even the tighter marking inhibited his play although the provocation appeared to work when the Mayo centre forward was sin-binned in the 12th minute along with Max Hudghton.

In the more abrasive atmosphere Kennelly raised his game and gave a performance in keeping with his final-quarter showing in the first Test. Showing calm in the maelstrom he would later take a marvellous mark in the third quarter to create the platform for the match's only goal and ended up as Ireland's second-top scorer with nine.

Level going into the second quarter, Australia began to turn the screw. Nathan Brown was a constant threat throughout the 80 minutes and the accuracy of his kicking yielded seven overs and just one wide. This time around he had better support with Nick Riewoldt shuttling between centrefield and attack, moving the ball intelligently and making good marks.

Riewoldt's over in the 28th minute pushed Australia into a three-point lead, 19-16 and a minute later Luke Ball's shot for goal was acrobatically saved by Cluxton at full stretch. In the last minute of the half, an Australian attack ended with Ciarán McManus holding on to possession in the tackle.

The hooter went with the Australians protesting. GAA referee Michael Collins bizarrely ignored the clear case for a penalty and it was hard not to sympathise with the visitors' anger at an incorrect decision that cost them a shot at six points and priceless momentum.

Trailing by three it was Ireland, however, who moved in the crucial third quarter with captain Pádraic Joyce the big influence. Two overs and a goal - drifting through the defence until he locked his sights and pulled the trigger - turned the match irrevocably in Ireland's direction, making a large contribution to his side's 21-9 mastery of the quarter.

Cluxton also did his bit with a darting interception when Adam McPhee was bearing in on goal.

The final quarter was anti-climactic. A nine-point margin is usually well within Australia's capacity in the final stretch but Ireland's third-quarter barrage had burned them off.