Christie sounds war cry

Cyrus Christie has challenged the Republic of Ireland to win the World Cup war against Denmark after edging the battle in Copenhagen.

Martin O’neill’s men left the Parken Stadium on Saturday with a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their play-off having survived something of a mauling in the first half.

Opinion is divided on which side hold the advantage as they prepare to meet again at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow night.

Middlesbrough full-back Christie is convinced Ireland emerged with the upper hand and backs them to make the most of it. He said: “It was very tough, but it was tough for Denmark as well.

“I’m sure they knew they were in for a game and we won the battle.

“We had chances and I don’t think they had too many chances. We kept them quiet and we could have won it.

“Now we go back to our home ground and we will be full of confidence. Tuesday is a massive night and hopefully we can rise to the occasion.”

Central defender Shane Duffy is relishing a contest which could take 120 minutes or more to decide. He said: “It’s huge. I can’t wait. We’ll come back at them on Tuesday.

“No-one can take anything away from our performance defensively against a very good team and we’ll have more on Tuesday.”