The Republic of Ireland Under 19s kicked off the La Manga Tournament with a 3-0 victory over Norway on Tuesday.
After dominating the first half, Ireland finally took the lead in the 43rd minute when James Hand’s burst to the by-line caused panic in the Norway defence before he swung over a low cross for Billy Clarke to fire home.
A second goal arrived from James Simmons after a fine through ball by Andy Keogh broke the Norwegian offside trap five minutes into the second half before a third arrived five minutes from time when Leon Best flicked on a long clearance by Darren Randolph for John Hayes to finish convincingly.
Manager Sean McCaffrey said: “It was a good performance and result against a physically tough team. There was a lot of good individual performances which delighted me.”
Next up for Ireland are the Czech Republic — one of the top teams in Europe at Under 19 level — on Thursday afternoon.
Rep of Ireland: Randolph (Charlton Athletic); Binnion (Sheffield United), Elebert (Preston North End), R Keogh (Stoke City), Gibson (Manchester United), Kelly (Unattached), Morris (Leeds United), A Keogh (Leeds United), Hand (Huddersfield), Dicker (U.C.D), Clarke (Ipswich Town)
Subs used: Simmons (Chelsea) for J.P. Kelly, Best (Southampton) for Clarke, Hayes (Reading) for A Keogh. |
