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08.10.2011 at 14:00 Hristo Botev - Plovdiv
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Attendance: |
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Bosnia-Herzegovina |
2 - 0
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Rep of Ireland Under 19 |
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Referee: Nerijus Dunauskas (LTU) |
European Qualifier-match |
Maletić 27 mins,
Prcić 84 mins, |
None. |
UEFA Championship U-19 first phase qualifier
Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 Republic of Ireland
The Republic of Ireland Under-19s received a set-back to their UEFA qualification ambitions hopes today following defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina today (Saturday) in their second match of their first phase qualifiers in Bulgaria.
Ireland Head Coach Paul Doolin kept faith with the same starting line-up that had begun the series by defeating mini-group hosts Bulgaria 4-1 on Thursday.
With Bosnia and Herzegovina also recording a win in their opening tie of the four-nation pool by turning over top seeds Russia, it presented for the victor from todays encounter to secure one of the two qualification berths on offer into the elite phase.
Despite Irelands reverse, they can still be assured of qualification by beating Russia in their concluding tie on Tuesday against Russia.
Connor Smith and Neil Byrne fashioned two early chances for Ireland, both of which missed the target, and their opponents soon gained a foothold.
FC Utrecht striker Marko Maletić was especially dangerous in attack and on 27 minutes he made his mark by latching onto a pass and leaving Sean McDermott in the Irish goal helpless with a perfectly executed drive.
Chances were shared in the run-up to the break but Ireland had more of the possession in the second half without making it count.
Anthony Forde, the scorer of Irelands fourth against Bulgaria, nearly had another close to the hour only for a top-class save from Kristijan Jajalo.
Irelands pursuit of an equaliser would ultimately leave gaps and they were ruthlessly punished six minutes from full-time when Sanjin Prcić netted the second.
In the other Group 2 games played, Bulgaria put their points on the board with a 1-0 win over Russia.
The results after two series of matches means that going into Thursdays final set of fixtures any of the other three nations can join Bosnia and Herzegovina in the next round.
"I would have to say that Bosnia and Herzegovina were the better team over the course of the game," said Doolin afterwards.
"We started well but the goal knocked our lads out of their stride. We had some chances in the second half when it was one-nil but Bosnia were a good team and there was always the chance theyd catch us again."
Republic of Ireland: McDermott (Arsenal); Barker (Bohemians), Byrne (Notts Forest), McHugh (Dundalk), Williams (Aston Villa); Carruthers (Aston Villa), O Sullivan (Blackburn Rovers), Garmston (West Brom); Murray (Watford), C. Smith (Watford), Forde (Wolves).
Subs: G. Smith (Southend United) for McHugh (63 mins), Burke (Aston Villa) for C. Smith (71 mins), George (Celtic) for Carruthers (77 mins). |
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