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01.10.2006 at 11:00 HFC Humenné, Slovakia
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Attendance: |
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Italy |
0 - 1
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Ireland Under 19 |
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Referee: Anouk De Jong (NED) |
European Championship Qualifier-match |
Manuela Coluccini (out)
Silvia Pisano (in) 46 mins;
Pamela Gueli (out)
Cristina Bonometti (in)63 mins |
Aoife Herbert -> Noelle Murray (87)
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The Republic of Ireland Under 19 Women capped off a fine week with a 1-0 victory over Italy today. This meant that the Irish topped the UEFA Championship, 1st Qualifying Phase, Group 10 with three wins from three matches. Both the Italians and the Irish had already qualified for the second phase with two wins over hosts Slovakia and Bulgaria. The Italians went into the match as favourites having scored eleven goals and conceded none.
The Irish applied the pressure right from kick-off and were only denied by some superb goalkeeping from the Italian keeper. Aine O'Gorman and Diane Caldwell both had shots saved and the Irish looked threatening every time they went forward.
The Irish continued to dominate proceedings from the beginning of the second half and were rewarded almost instantly in the 47th minute when Christina Byrne calmly took down a deflected shot and drove the ball into the back of the net.
Ten minutes later the Irish were unlucky not to increase their lead. Grace Murray hit the crossbar from a free kick and Noelle Murray pounced on the rebound only to see her shot also hit the crossbar. The Italian defence looked ragged but managed to clear the ball from the goalmouth. Despite sustained pressure the scoreline remained intact until the final whistle.
Manager Susan Ronan was delighted with the result "This was a great result that means we have not been defeated at Phase 1 since 2003 and have now topped the group at this stage for two years running.”
She added, “I am particularly pleased because we have a very young squad with lots of ability and time to learn. I am really looking forward to the draw for the next phase in December - we deserve to be top seeds based on our unbeaten performances in the first stage for the second year in a row."
Republic of Ireland
Lyn Bradley (Raheny)
Seana Cooke (Arsenal)
Grace Murray (Dundalk)
Susan Hackett (Stella Maris)
Meabh De Burca (Salthill Devon)
Jennifer Critchley (Lifford)
Lyn-Marie Grant (Lifford)
Diane Caldwell (Hofstra University)
Christina Byrne (Raheny)
Noelle Murray (Raheny)
Aine O’Gorman (Stella Maris)
Subs
Niamh Reid-Burke (St. Mochtas)
Catriona McGilp (Cabinteely)
Stephanie Roche (Stella Maris)
Aoife Herbert (Ballina Town)
Hannah Barrett (Fulham)
Michelle Glynn (Mervue United)
Rachel Graham (Raheny) |
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