Giovanni Trapattoni launched his Republic of Ireland mission with a small step forward as his side snatched a late 1-1 draw with Serbia.The 69-year-old Italian was spared a losing start to his reign when Wolves striker Andy Keogh came off the bench to volley home an injury-time equaliser just as an expectant crowd at Croke Park had resigned itself to defeat.

Trapattoni was happy with the result and the performance in a tough first game.

He said: "We have started, we have begun. We certainly took a step forward.

"It was a good match. It was for me - and two or three players - the first international game, and an opportunity to give our supporters a good result.

"In the first half, we deserved to be ahead. We had a very good opportunity with Robbie (Keane) when the defender saved the ball on the goal-line.

"But in the second half, Serbia played better than we did. We knew their qualities before the match, but we knew our own qualities and style of play, and we deserved that result.

"I don't think we deserved to lose and the result for me and the players was good."

Keane would indeed have given the home side a 22nd-minute lead had Serbia defender Slobodan Rajkovic not recovered quickly to block the Tottenham striker's shot on the line after his own header inadvertently set him up at the far post.

However, that was one of few chances created by either side as the technically-gifted Serbs stretched Ireland on the counter but managed to cope well with their opponents' more combative approach.

The game looked to be heading for a draw until 15 minutes from time when substitute Marko Pantelic pounced as Paul McShane allowed Ivica Dragutinovic's long ball to sail over his head and the forward fired past 37-year-old keeper Dean Kiely.

But Kiely, making his first appearance for his country in five years, did not end up on the losing side, thanks to Keogh's first senior international goal.

The 22-year-old, who had replaced Stephen Hunt with nine minutes remaining, latched on to Daryl Murphy's flick-on from Damien Delaney's throw-in to smash the ball past keeper Vladimir Stojkovic to ensure the game ended all-square.

Trapattoni has developed something of a reputation during his 35-year coaching career for defensive resilience, and while he insists he will iron out the kind of error which allowed Serbia their goal, he was not too concerned by the lack of chances at the other end.

He said: "The opponents, how many did they create? Did you see the Champions League final? How many chances?

"Every game when two teams play the same, there are very few opportunities. It is difficult to have more than two or three.

"They had one opportunity on the counter-attack."

The 69-year-old Italian was questioned after the game about claims some of his players broke a curfew after a meal with sponsors Eircom during last week's trip to Portugal.

However, he insisted he had given them time off and had no problem with what had gone on.

He said: "I gave them free time. After eight days of training morning, afternoon, morning, afternoon, morning, afternoon, they deserved some time off.

"It's not a problem. You saw we were running until the last minute with four minutes of added time."

More Football News from TEAMtalk