Rep of Ireland 3-0 Russia
Notts County striker Leon Best helped down Russia with a goal in either half of this tournament game in the Algarve to give the Irish under-17s a perfect start to life after Brian Kerr.
Best was the second Irish Notts County man to complete a match-winning brace on Saturday – his Irish under-21 club colleague Paul Heffernan scored twice as the County senior side defeated Luton Town 2-1 in the Nationwide League.
Noel O’Reilly’s charges – Kerr’s erstwhile assistant has taken over the reins of the nation’s under-17 side – went ahead with a first half Best header, and he extended the kids in green’s lead with a second halfway through the second half.
A late third from Celtic youngster Aidan McGeady completed the rout for the Irish, who face Norway in the second match of the quadrangular tournament.
Rep of Ireland: Masterson (Millwall), Kelly (Cherry Orchard), Lyng (Preston North End), Nash (Ipswich Town), McFaul (Notts County), Flynn (Wolves), O’Brien (Bolton Wanderers), Foley-Sheridan (Aston Villa), Keogh (Leeds United), McGeady (Celtic), Best (Notts County).
Substitutes:: O’Brien (Belvedere) for Kelly, Byrne (Cherry Orchard) for Foley-Sheridan, Gill (Derry City) for Best, Flynn (Sunderland) for Keogh. |
