Friendly
05.02.2013 at 19:30 - Flancare Park
Republic of Ireland U19 team manager Paul Doolin has named his squad for the forthcoming friendly internationals against the Czech Republic.
The Irish will face the Czechs in Longford on Tuesday, February 5, and again in Athlone on Thursday, February 7, as they build up their preparations for the UEFA Championships elite qualifying round in June.
Doolin is pleased to have a number of players back at his disposal after injuries curtailed their involvement in the first phase in Luxembourg last October when the Irish finished joint-top of their group with Germany.
“I’m very happy to have quite a few players fit again,” said Doolin.
“It’s good to have the likes of Darragh Lenihan back, he was in Latvia in our friendly game in August and is a very good player. It was a blow to lose him for the first phase. Kenny McEvoy returns from a groin problem - he’s exciting and quick. We’re also very pleased to have Paul George back after his injury as he did very well last year.
“We’re also taking in a couple of new ones including Ryan McConnell, who was with us with the U18s in November. He can play in a variety of roles and that is helpful with Noe Baba out injured for these games. Kyle McFadden is a centre-back who was injured for the U18s in Switzerland so we wanted to see him.
“I’m also pleased to see Sean Maguire doing well since he went to West Ham in their U21s and I’ve brought Adam Evans from Burnley. He can play left or through middle.”
Doolin is planning on bringing the squad to Malaga from a preparation week in March to help prepare for the elite phase. Ireland meet Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland in June in the elite qualifying tournament.
“The qualification campaign so far has been great. To get seven points and come from 2-0 down to Germany to get a draw was a fantastic achievement, considering we had just one friendly against Latvia. Some of the goals we scored were first class,” said Doolin.
“The Czech games are about building on what we’ve done so far. Played four and not lost any. We want to get the continuity going again. It’s a decent batch of players. We’ll be looking for good performances from individual players and build on what we did in Luxembourg.”
Republic of Ireland U19 squad:
Ian Lawlor (Manchester City)
Danny Rogers (Aberdeen)
Kyle McFadden (Norwich City)
Thomas Hoban (Watford)
Pierce Sweeney (Reading)
Ryan McConnell (Manchester United)
Shane Griffin (Reading)
Bradley Garmston (West Bromwich Albion)
Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers)
Luke Gallagher (Burnley)
Kenneth McEvoy (Tottenham Hotspur)
Kieran Sadlier (West Ham United)
Michael Drennan (Aston Villa)
Sam Byrne (Manchester United)
Brandon Miele (Newcastle United)
Ryan Coombes (St Patrick’s Athletic)
Sean Maguire (West Ham United)
Kealan Dillon (Hull City)
Adam Evans (Burnley)
Paul George (Celtic)
Fixtures
Tuesday, February 5
Republic of Ireland U19 v Czech Republic, Flancare Park, Longford (7.30pm)
Thursday, February 7
Republic of Ireland U19 v Czech Republic, Athlone Town Stadium (7.30pm)
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