Republic of Ireland and Wales' World Cup qualifier may not have produced any goals, but it didn't go without incident at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.Both sides were looking to bolster their chances of World Cup qualification going into the game, but Wales - who exceeded all expectations by reaching the Euro 2016 semi-finals last summer - couldn't strengthen their chances of qualification for a second consecutive major tournament.Wales star man Gareth Bale would once again prove to be influential in the game, producing the game's most likely chance of a goal on a couple of occasions, but his narrow failure would have been of no consolation to boss Chris Coleman.

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The result left Ireland level on points with Group D leaders Serbia and Wales four points further behind in third after five games. But fans will have been left to discuss several crucial incidents within the match.

After an opening 45 minutes that created no chances, Bale came to life in the second-half with a free-kick straight at Ireland's Darren Randolph, Neil Taylor headed off target from the penalty spot and Sam Vokes dragged his effort wide.

But for all The Dragons persistence and better of the chances in front of goal, it was the other, more serious, incidents that caused the biggest debate in the aftermath of the game.

However, for all Wales' good work, one crucial minute in the game set the tone for how the match was set to finish and with Coleman facing a problem ahead of their trip to Serbia in June.

Bale was booked in the 68th minute for a reckless challenge on John O'Shea, which means he will miss their summer trip to Serbia. But it appears Taylor was trying to compete with the Real Madrid star as to who could produce the most horrifying challenge.

And the Aston Villa star certainly won it, producing a gruesome tackle worthy of a straight red card on Everton man Seamus Coleman who suffered a suspected broken leg.

But while there can be absolutely no excuses whatsoever for Taylor's woeful challenge, Bale bravely 'attempted' to justify his challenge on O'Shea, as can be seen in the video below, which will sideline him for Wales' next qualifier.

"He's kind of kicked me, I've kind of collided, and I don't think it was a yellow to be honest but the referee's done it. What can I do?" said Bale.

Twitter in contrast, was clearly not in agreement with Bale's assessment of his challenge on O'Shea.