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The spot-kick was awarded by Ukrainian referee Oleh Oriekhov for a tug by Ireland's Paul McShane on Welsh substitute David Cotterill, but the foul seemed to take place outside the penalty area.

Koumas ignored the away side's complaints to keep his nerve and send the penalty powerfully past Shay Given to score his second goal of the match and earn his country a face-saving point.

It was hard on Ireland, who had squandered several excellent opportunities to add to the 2-1 lead they took into the final minutes.

The away side were also the quicker team out of the blocks in the first half, with Aiden McGeady in mesmerising form in the opening exchanges.

The Celtic winger twice beat his marker Neal Eardley with ease in the first ten minutes before delivering tantalisingly into the home side's penalty area. But Ireland failed to capitalise on either opening as Robbie Keane first sent a header straight at goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, who was then lucky to be awarded a free kick as he fumbled McGeady's second quick-fire cross.

It was Wales who took the lead against the run of play, however, through a beautifully-crafted goal midway through the first half.

The move began with Joe Ledley leaving Steve Finnan for dead on the left flank with a neat trick. The Cardiff man then crossed the ball deep into the penalty area, from where Koumas powered a pinpoint header past Given for his first goal of the afternoon.

But Wales' lead was short lived. With half an hour gone, the hosts lost the ball cheaply from a throw-in, allowing Kevin Doyle to thread a through-ball towards his strike partner Keane. The Spurs striker duly ran through on goal before dinking the ball over Hennessey to score his 32nd international goal and level the scores.

That was how things stayed until the hour mark, when the introduction of Stephen Hunt for Ireland seemed to have swung the game decisively in their favour.

The Reading midfielder made an instant impact after replacing the ineffectual Liam Miller, as he charged down the left flank with his first touches of the ball. Head down, he powered towards the by-line before swinging a cross towards his club mate Doyle, who bundled the ball past the on-rushing Hennessey to give Ireland the lead.

Robbie Keane missed a glorious chance to double his side's advantage in the final ten minutes, ballooning a shot over from point-blank range after being teed up by the impressive Hunt, before McGeady saw a daisy-cutter of a drive tipped round the post moments later.

Wales seemed to have run out of ideas as the clock ran down, but the referee's last-ditch intervention gave them a lifeline back into the match and finished off Ireland's qualifying campaign in fittingly forlorn fashion.

Ben Phillips / Eurosport