The Boys in Green earned a point against Wales on Friday, but failed to show they could do much more than intimidate their opponents in a fiery game
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"Hit him!" That was Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane's tongue-in-cheek suggestion on how to stop Gareth Bale. And that's exactly what his players did against the Real Madrid superstar in the 0-0 draw with Wales on Friday.
From the outset, Bale was a marked man as the Boys in Green played cynically, with James McClean asserting himself on the game early on with physical play.