Republic of Ireland 1 – 2 Slovakia
Sean Scannell 67
Ireland's U17 side lost their final match of the Hungary Invitational tournament against Slovakia in the 3rd/4th place-play-off.
The Republic trailed 2-0 at half-time break but pulled a goal back through Sean Scannell in the second half.
It was the Crystal Palace striker's third goal in three games for Ireland this week and the London-born youngster finished as leading scorer in the tournament.
Ireland had the chance to draw level in the game but substitute Dean Marshall saw his shot rebound off the crossbar in the closing moments of the game.
The squad were in Hungary for five days this week as part of their preparations for the first phase UEFA Under-17 qualifying series, scheduled for Azerbaijan from the 23rd - 28th of September.
Ireland will face Denmark, Latvia and the hosts Azerbaijan in the qualifiers, with the top two nations progressing into next year's Elite phase.
The tournament was a useful exercise from the perspective of manager Sean McCaffrey in assessing his squad options before the European qualifying campaign gets underway next month.
“We've had three games and it gave me the opportunity of seeing the players in action against good quality opposition. I've learnt a lot in the past week and we can now move on towards the qualifiers in Azerbaijan.”
IRELAND: Donal Greene (Dundalk FC), Gareth Matthews (Cherry Orchard), Darragh Tuffy (Blackburn Rovers), Paul Honohan (Wilton U), Adrian Moyles (Queens Park Rangers), Jamie Devitt (Hull City), Joe O’Neill (Burnley /Home Farm), James O’Brien (Birmingham City), Michael Collins (Liverpool), Jack Lyons (Crystal Palace), Sean Scannell (Crystal Palace)
Subs : Dean Marshall (Shelbourne) for Devitt (Half-time), Joe Collins (Portsmouth) for Moyles (Half-time), Shane O’Connor (Liverpool) for M. Collins (60 mins), Craig Duggan (Kilreen), for Lyons (Half-time), Ricky Byrne (Southend) for Tuffy (Half-time). |
