Ireland returned after the break no doubt having been told in no uncertain terms that they would have to be much better in the second half, and they resumed in determined fashion.
Both sides had penalty appeals correctly waved away by Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca inside the opening four minutes after Weiss went down under Aiden McGeady's challenge and then Glenn Whelan collided with Pekarik at the other end.
Duff fired over the angle of bar and post with 58 minutes gone, but his side would have been behind three minutes later had St Ledger not blocked Hamsik's goal-bound shot with his chest after Holosko had got in behind Dunne and teed up his captain.
Trapattoni introduced Simon Cox as a 64th-minute replacement for Kevin Doyle, but with Weiss terrorising the home defence, Given was seeing far more of the ball than Mucha.
However, the chance of which Keane would have dreamt last night finally arrived with 16 minutes remaining when Duff curled in the perfect cross from the right wing.
Keane met the ball with a firm header just five yards out, but somehow powered his effort wide with Mucha hopelessly exposed.
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