DUBLIN (AP) - Ireland was not able to get past 10-man Wales on Friday as it was held to a 0-0 draw, a result that allowed Serbia to reach the top of Group D of European qualifying for the 2018 World Cup after a 3-1 win at Georgia.
Ireland and Serbia have 11 points each after five matches, but the Serbians have a better goal difference.
Wales moved onto seven points, the same as Austria, which defeated Moldova 2-0 at home.
Only the group winners automatically qualify for the World Cup in Russia.
Here’s a look at the Group D matches:
___
IRELAND 0, WALES 0
Ireland played more than 20 minutes with a man advantage but failed to capitalize on its chances against Wales.
Neil Taylor was sent off in the 69th minute after a dangerous tackle on Seamus Coleman, who had to be carried off the field with a broken right leg.
“If you look at the last 20 minutes, playing with 10 men, a point is not the worst result,” Wales forward Gareth Bale said.
Bale had a great chance in a breakaway near the end of the match, but his shot went just wide of the post.
“In the second half I thought we controlled the game very well,” Bale said. “We created some good chances and we were unlucky not to get a goal.”
Just before Taylor was sent off, Bale was shown a yellow card that will keep him from playing at Serbia in the next round of qualifiers in June.
___
GEORGIA 1, SERBIA 3
Serbia fought back from conceding an early goal to jumped into the group lead with a comfortable victory against winless Georgia.
Nika Kacharava put the hosts ahead only six minutes into the match, but Dusan Tadic equalized by converting a penalty kick before halftime, then set up second-half goals for Aleksandar Mitrovic and Mijat Gacinovic.
Georgia, which was coming off consecutive draws at Wales and against Moldova, stayed with two points from five matches, one point ahead of Moldova.
___
AUSTRIA 2, MOLDOVA 0
Marcel Sabitzer and Martin Harnik scored late in the second half to give Austria the victory over Moldova.
Sabitzer deflected a Marko Arnautovic cross with his right shoulder to surprise Moldova goalkeeper Stanislav Namasco in the 75th minute, and substitute Harnik doubled the lead in the last minute after Namasco failed to clear the ball following a long-range shot by Zlatko Junuzovic.
In the first half, captain David Alaba hit the crossbar and Martin Hinteregger had a goal disallowed for offside in the one-sided match.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.