Republic of Ireland 1 Liechtenstein 0
Sean McCaffrey's Irish U19 side today qualified for the elite qualifying phase of the UEFA Championship but they were made to work hard for the victory against a very defensive Liechtenstein team with Chelsea's Conor Clifford's strike in the 84th minute proving to be the difference between the two teams.
Despite playing against an incredibly strong wind in the first half, the Irish started the game the much stronger of the two teams and McCaffrey's men attacked in numbers early on and were nearly rewarded after two minutes when defender, Gavin Gunning's powerful free-kick from the edge of the box was saved by Tichy in Liechtenstein’s goal.
Liechtenstein came close after 18 minutes when defender, Kaufmann blasted a free-kick from 25 yards but Ger Hanley in Ireland's goal saved comfortably. The Irish had a handful of opportunities to open the scoring before the break as Bohemian's Paddy Madden headed just wide and Gavin Gunning who made two superb runs into the box, which both went agonisingly wide.
The Irish resumed the second half with the strong wind on their backs and they dominated proceedings from start to finish, creating numerous amount of chances but they lacked the killer edge in front of goal. McCaffrey's men came very close to opening the scoring in the 57th minute with Gavin Gunning once again creating problems in the opposing box, he flicked the ball on to Paul Murphy but his header was cleared off the line by the defence.
Substitute, Aaron Doran made an instant impact after his introduction at half time and he was unlucky not to score after 64 minutes when he took a short corner from the left to Ian Daly who played the ball back to the Blackburn midfielder as he shrugged off the defenders and smashed the ball of the right hand post, much to the relief of the Liechtenstein goalkeeper.
With the Irish now controlling the game in the final third of the pitch, chances were plentiful and Conor Clifford could not believe his luck when his powerful effort from 20 yards flicked the top of the post, while substitute, James Collin's pounced on a rebound in the box but his rushed shot hit the side-netting.
Ireland finally scored the winning goal in the 84th minute when Histon defender, Lanre Oyebanjo launched one of his trademark long throws into the crowded penalty area, Clifford was on hand to smash the ball low and hard into the net from six yards out, much to the relief of the Irish side.
Galway United keeper, Ger Hanley was called into action late on as he made two vital saves from Sele Mathias and Gur Olcay in the 86th and 87th minute respectively. Ipswich Town's Paul Murphy should thought he had doubled Ireland's advantage in the final minute when he tried an audacious shot from 25 yards which slammed off the under-side of the crossbar and Tichy Mario in Liechtenstein’s goal gratefully grasped the ball to his chest.
The game ended negatively for McCaffrey's men as James Collins who was making his debut, was dubiously booked earlier in the game. He was shown a second yellow by referee, Veaceslav Banari as he ran on to a through ball from Paul Murphy and slotted home from six yards out. The referee adjudged that Collin's was in an offside position and gave him his second yellow card for kicking the ball into the net.
The Irish now face France in their final UEFA Championship, first phase qualifier having already secured their passage to the elite qualifying phase which takes place early next year. McCaffrey’s men take on the French on Wednesday, November 26th at 11.00hrs (local time.)
Republic of Ireland v Liechtenstein
Gerard Hanley - Galway United
Lanre Oyebanjo - Histon
Gavin Gunning - Blackburn Rovers
Danny Kelly - Norwich City
Niall McArdle - Sunderland
Conor Clifford - Chelsea
Jamie Devitt - Hull City
Gearoid Morrissey - Blackburn Rovers
Ian Daly - Manchester City
Paddy Madden - Bohemians
Paul Murphy - Ipswich Town
Substitutes
Kieron Thorp - Crystal Palace
Shane O’Connor - Liverpool (on for Ian Daly 76 mins)
Aaron Doran - Blackburn Rovers (on for Devitt , 45 mins)
James Collins - Aston Villa (on for Madden , 45 mins)
Richie Towell - Celtic
Mark Connolly - Wolves
Damien McCrory - Plymouth Argyle
UEFA Championship first qualifying phase fixtures
Republic of Ireland 2-0 Malta
Friday, November 21st
Kick-off: 11.00am (local time)
Republic of Ireland 1-0 Liechtenstein
Sunday, November 23rd
Kick-off: 15.00pm (local time)
France v Republic of Ireland
Wednesday, November 26th
Kick-off: 11.00am (local time) |
