Ireland U18s suffer 2-1 friendly loss to Czechs
THE Republic of Ireland U18 team went down to 2-1 loss in a friendly international against the Czech Republic at Lhota pod Libčany this evening.
Paul Doolin’s side produced a solid first half display and snatched the lead early in the second half but were pinned back by the Czechs, who scored two goals in the final half an hour
Irish keeper Harry Doherty made one routine save midway through the first half while Hibernian striker Gareth McCaffrey was denied by the home keeper in the 38th minute.
McCaffrey grabbed the opener in the 55th minute when the home keeper made a hashed clearance and the striker ran through to slot the ball into an empty net.
The Czechs responded in the 62nd minute through Tomas Valenta after he bundled home a cross at the back post.
Ireland fell behind in the 75th minute when Filip Zorban had a strike deflected past Doherty after some hesitant Irish defending.
“It was an ok performance. In the first half we had decent possession and were unlucky once or twice not to score. The Czechs had a bit of the game and we defended well,” said Doolin.
“It was a group of players who hadn’t played together so it was always going to be a test against a side that plays together far more regularly. The Czechs got up a gear in the second half but we got a break with our goal. Gareth put enough pressure on to force the keeper mistake so deserved it.
“The defending for the two goals we conceded could have been a lot better. However, the Czechs were the better side after the break and these games are like trial games for us. We’re looking at players for next year so all in all there were some positives there and a few things we’ll want to learn from.”
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Harry Doherty, Ryan Rainey, Pierce Mitchell, Sean Heaney, Liam Flatley, Dylan Kavanagh, Josh Cullen, Philip Gannon, Jack Hallahan, Ryan Goldsmith, Gareth McCaffery.
Subs: Chris Flanagan for Hallahan 64, Harry Charsley for Gannon 64, Joel Coustrain for Goldsmith 75, Daryll Power for McCaffrey 87. |
