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26.03.2015 at 18:00 Stadium: Groclin Dyskobolia Attendance:
Poland 1 - 0 Rep of Ireland
Referee: Orkhan Mammadov (Azerbaijan) EC Elite Round-match

Goalscorers
Kaczmarczyk 10 mins, None.
Opening squads
Żynel,
Gumny,
Hołownia,
Dzięcioł,
Dziczek,
Jóźwiak,
Ostaszewski,
Listkowski (Spychała 74), Bielik,
Chrzanowski,
Kaczmarczyk
Caoimhin Kelleher
Corey O Keeffe
Trevor Clarke
Conor Masterson
Luke Wade-Slater
JJ Lunney
Darragh Leahy
Conor Ronan
Shane Hanney
Josh Barrett
Jamie Ahearne
Substitutes
Jankowski (GK)
Dominik Prusaczyk
Kamil Wojtkowski
Mateusz Spychała
Patryk Czarnowski
Tom Mc Dermott
Danny Mandroiu
Conor Levingston
Zachary Elbouzedi
Oisin Connolly
Avis Ganyliu
Eoghan Stokes
Substitutions
Spychała for Listkowski 74 mins Eoghan Stokes -> JJ Lunney (41)
Zachary Elbouzedi -> Luke Wade-Slater (55)
Conor Levingston -> Trevor Clarke (71)
Yellow cards
Paweł Kaczmarczyk 65 mins, Eoghan Stokes (48)
Corey O Keeffe (60)
Red cards
None None.
Other statistics
0 Shots 0
0 Shots on goal 0
0 Offsides 0
0 Corner kicks 0
0 Free kicks 0
0 Penalties 0
Match report
UEFA Under-17 Championship Elite Round Group 4 | Groclin Dyskobolia, Grodzisk Wielkopolski


Ireland U17s qualify for UEFA Championships Finals

THE Republic of Ireland qualified for the UEFA U17 Championships finals after a dramatic final day of their Elite Phase qualifying group in Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland, today.

26th Mar 2015

Mohan's side knew that a single goal defeat to the hosts may have been enough to reach the finals in Bulgaria in May and with Greece drawing 0-0 with Belarus in the other fixture the Irish finished second and clinched qualification.

The Poles were determined to make up for their two defeats in their opening fixtures against the Greeks and Belarus but it was Ireland who threatened first with a Conor Masterson effort saved by goalkeeper Bartłomiej Żynel.

Poland opened the scoring the tenth minute when Paweł Kaczmarczyk turned the ball home from close range after a right wing break.

That sparked a sustained period of Polish pressure with Irish keeper Caoimhin Kelleher forced into saves from Kamil Jóźwiak in the 25th minute and Mateusz Ostaszewski in the 36th minute.

Kelleher made another save in the 42nd minute to deny Marcin Listkowski two minutes into the second half and he did likewise to deny Krystian Bielik five mi9nutes later.

Ireland got right back in the game from there on in and pushed hard to level. Josh Barrett had a shot blocked in the 51st minute then Jamie Aherne just missed the target on the hour.

Seven minutes later Barrett came close again and in the 69th minute Żynel had to act smartly to deny Zachary Elbouzedi.

Ireland could not level in the end but Mohan was delighted afterwards as his side progressed despite the result.

"It was a hard battle and we would have loved to get a result but we're delighted to progress to the finals," said Mohan.

"It's a massive group effort from staff, players - four lads couldn't come here this week through injuries - but the lads on the pitch did fantastic work. Everybody has just been fantastic."

Mohan particularly thanked his staff: Mick Neville (coach), Dermot O'Neill (goalkeeper), Marc Kenny (scout), Mickey Feeney (analyst), Michael Spillane (Physio), Rory O'Donoghue (doctor), Robbie Hoey (kit), Gerry Kelly (operations) & Joe O'Brien (delegate).

"Right from the beginning of the qualifying series there has been a huge amount of work done. The likes of Dr Alan Byrne and John Flynn put in a lot of work to get players fit to play," added Mohan.

"It's good for football in Ireland and for the people who work with developing these players. It's great reward for the players, their clubs, families and the FAI and grassroots football across the country. These boys have delivered.

"It is also very pleasing to note that we had five home-based players in our squad which shows what work has been done around the country.

"I knew Poland were a good side. They had dominated the other games but just fell behind and couldn't break down their opponents afterwards. We're a fairly open side too but after we conceded we showed great resilience to try and get into it.

"It was tough in the first half but in the second half we started to dominate possession and create chances. Our attacking players had been starved off possession. You're disappointed to lose games but we knew what was going on in the other game."

The Irish U17s last played in the UEFA Finals in 2008.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Kelleher, O'Keeffe, Lunney (Stokes 41), Masterson, Leahy, Hanney, Barrett, Ronan, Clarke (Levingston 71), Wade-Slater (Elbouzedi 55), Aherne.

POLAND: Żynel, Gumny, Hołownia, Dzięcioł, Dziczek, Jóźwiak, Ostaszewski, Listkowski (Spychała 74), Bielik, Chrzanowski, Kaczmarczyk.

RESULTS

Saturday, March 21, 2015

UEFA U17 Championships Elite Qualifying Round Group 4

Republic of Ireland 2-2 Greece, Amica, Wronki (POL)

Monday, March 23, 2015

UEFA U17 Championships Elite Qualifying Round Group 4

Belarus 1-3 Republic of Ireland, Amica, Wronki (POL)

Thursday, March 26, 2015

UEFA U17 Championships Elite Qualifying Round Group 4

Republic of Ireland 0-1 Poland, Groclin Dyskobolia, Grodzisk Wielkopolski (POL)
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