Confirmation that Georgia had held onto their 1-0 lead over Scotland in Tbilisi called for further celebrations. Ireland duly collected their mandatory three points against Gibraltar and jumped above their Scottish rivals.
Cyrus Christie earned his first competitive cap as a replacement for the injured Seamus Coleman and it was his opening goal that sent Ireland on their way to a 4-0 victory against the part-timers from The Rock.
Captain Robbie Keane, making his 141st appearance for Ireland, added another two goals to his account to stretch his lead as the all-time highest scorer in UEFA Euro qualifying games. Substitute Shane Long added the fourth. Keane now stands within three goals of Cristiano Ronaldo in the overall competition charts; finals included.
Cristiano Ronaldo has 26 goals in 40 games whilst Robbie Keane has 23 goals in 46 games. Ronaldo first took to the international football stage, at UEFA EURO 2004, when he helped inspire the hosts to the final.
He scored in the opening game, a 2-1 defeat by Greece, the start of a productive association. He bagged eight goals en route to UEFA EURO 2008, adding another amid a disappointing finals campaign as Portugal exited in the last eight.
UEFA EURO 2012 brought ten more goals as his side reached the semi-finals where eventual winners Spain edged them out. The Real Madrid goal machine has continued in the same vein on the road to France 2016, moving to the top of the all-time charts at home to Armenia before hitting his first ever EURO hat-trick against the same opponents in June.
The only Portuguese player to score at three FIFA World Cups, Ronaldo also heads the field in the UEFA Champions League scoring stakes alongside Lionel Messi, with both players now boasting 77 strikes apiece.
Gibraltar left the sunshine behind as they headed to Warsaw, where they lost 8-1 to Poland, with their only professional player - Jake Gosling of Bristol Rovers - scoring a consolation goal in the 87th minute.
It was only their second goal in the qualifying campaign but it did little to lift their spirits as they stayed rooted to the foot of the table with zero points from eight games.