The Republic of Ireland U19 side produced an impressive display to beat Portugal 1-0 at the 12th U19 National Team Tournament in La Manga this afternoon.
Ireland U19 v Portugal 120217.JPG
12th Feb 2017
Birmingham City striker Ronan Hale grabbed the only goal with a stunning individual effort in the 69th minute and Ireland defended brilliantly throughout. Tom Mohan's side also had to show great character after being reduced to ten men for the final half hour due to the dismissal of Dan McKenna for two bookings.
Ireland could have grabbed a dramatic opener 52 seconds in when Hale had a clipped effort deflected onto the Portuguese crossbar from a low cross by Trevor Clarke
In the eighth minute Irish keeper Caoimhin Kelleher was tested for the first time when Miguel Luis squeezed a poked effort through a crowd of players and the Liverpool stopper got down well to hold the shot. Luis also had a header narrowly wide midway through the first half.
After a long period of controlled play from Mohan's side, Ireland were next to threaten in the 34th minute when Jayson Molumby had an over-head kick comfortably saved by Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa after right-wing cross by Zachary Elbouzedi.
Elbouzedi sent over another right-wing cross less than a minute later but Hale was unable to get a solid strike under pressure from a defender and the ball looped safely into the keeper's hands.
Portugal came close to forcing an opener three minutes into the second half when Mesaque Dju burst through the centre of the Irish defence and fired in a low strike that Kelleher took two attempts to save.
Ireland had a half-chance in the 54th minute when a right wing cross landed at the feet of Hale and he opted to turn and shoot rather than lay off to the supporting Trevor Clarke and his stike lacked a solid connection.
The Irish suffered a blow when McKenna was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 58th minute after a challenge on Luis.
Ireland had a let off in the 65th minute when Midana Sambu produced a vicious low strike that rattled the base of the Irish left post.
The Irish then grabbed the lead in dramatic fashion when Hale burst down the left flank and cut inside before producing a stunning strike which found the net via the far post in the 69th minute.
Portugal had a gilt edged chance to level in the 81st minute but Pedro Marques headed a left wing cross straight at Kelleher and the Irish keeper saved easily.
Ireland's defence held firm from then on in and the hard work was rewarded with a memorable win. They face Slovakia in their final fixture of the tournament on Tuesday.
Mohan was delighted with his side's performance: "The boys did very well from the start. We'd a couple of good chances in the first half and just didn't finish them off. We defended very well even when we went down to ten men.
"Ronan Hale scored a great goal to put us ahead and the players responded very well with ten men and the subs came on to freshen things up and the whole team showed character.
"To beat a top nation like Portugal ahead of going into the UEFA Elite Phase will help give the players a confidence boost. We've looked at a few players here and it's good for them to experience that sort of game.
"It sets us up for the next game against Slovakia on Tuesday and we'll look for a similar performance. I felt we were very good in the first half and even with ten men we denied them opportunities."
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Caoimhin Kelleher, Canice Carroll, Conor Kane, Conor Masterson, Darragh Leahy, Zachary Elbouzedi, Dan McKenna, Jayson Molumby, Trevor Clarke, Ronan Hale, Dan Mandroiu. Subs: Thomas O'Connor for Mandroiu 62, Steven Kinsella for Kane 73, Barry Cotter for Carroll 79, Josh Barrett for Hale 85.
RESULTS & FIXTURES
La Manga Invitational Tournament
Friday, February 10
Republic of Ireland 1-2 Norway, La Manga Club, Murcia
Sunday, February 12
Republic of Ireland 1-0 Portugal, La Manga Club, Murcia
Tuesday, February 14
Republic of Ireland v Slovakia, La Manga Club, Murcia (12.00pm Irish)
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