Evan Ferguson admitted his comeback from injury was a tougher process than he would’ve imagined – before declaring he was in “the best shape” after scoring Ireland’s winner against Finland. The 20-year-old had the only goal of the game against the Finns on Thursday night as the Boys in Green secured a first home win

Evan Ferguson strike gives Ireland victory over Finland - Keeper Kelleher kept out Joel Pohjanpalo’s penalty to preserve Ireland’s lead.

Ferguson seized his, scoring just his second goal of the season for club or country, while Sammie Szmodics thought he had his first for Ireland, only to see it ruled out for offside, but the in-form Ipswich Town man took another step forward here and cemented his standing as a key man in this Hallgrimsson era.

Republic of Ireland 1 Finland 0 From Andy Watters at the Aviva Stadium EVAN Ferguson’s first half header and Caoimhin Kelleher’s brilliant second half penalty save were the highlights as the Republic of Ireland dug in to win a game that could have gone either way.

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Finland 0 IRELAND HAVE DEFEATED Finland 1-0 in their Uefa Nations League clash at the Aviva Stadium. Evan Ferguson scored the decisive goal on the stroke of half time, while Caoimhín Kelleher saved a second-half penalty to secure victory for Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side.