New Zealand's Haka before the game did little to put Ireland off as Shane Howard's right/footed shot flew just wide after an excellent turn on the edge of the box:
Cillian Morrison went one/on/one after a great run and only a goal/line clearance from Jordan Swaney denied Ireland the lead: Howard was next to test the 'keeper just after the half/hour mark, forcing a good save from Max Tommy:
After a scoreless first half, New Zealand took the lead in the 62nd minute when Irish full back Jason Dwane's tackle sent the ball past David Quirke and into his own net:
Strike
It then became a tale of the substitutes, as Shane Murray's penalty and Jimmy Keohane's strike should have given Ireland the win: Murray was hauled down in the box after a pass from Morrison: The Arklow man stepped up to equalise from 12 yards:
Ireland thought they had a third in the 88th minute as Keohane tapped in from close range: It wasn't allowed, though, and then a deep freekick was headed in by Hobbs in the 93rd minute to make it 2-2:
Ireland manager Hugh Colhoun said: "We had several chances and we should have been ahead at half/time: We were in control but we didn't take our chances and we got punished by a sloppy goal:"
Ireland play in a friendly tournament in Jersey before the Centenary Shield kicks off in late February:
Republic of Ireland // D Quirke (R O'Flaherty, 70); J Dwane (J Keohane, 75), E Osbourne (I Storan, 45), N Harney, G Broughall, G Burke (C Forsyth, 45), B Gaffney (E Hanrahan, 62), J Hughes (capt), D Fallon (T Boyle, 45), S Howard (S Murray, 62), C Morrison (J Bonner, 81):