European Qualifier
07.10.2016 at 17:45 - RSC Waterford
THE Republic of Ireland U21 team will look to see out its UEFA U21 Championships qualifying campaign on a winning note when Noel Kings side hosts Serbia at the RSC, Waterford, tomorrow (5.45pm).
Kings charges have beaten Slovenia, Lithuania and Andorra at home in this campaign and the Irish head coach wants to make it four wins from five at home. Italy were the only visiting side to record a victory over the Irish at the RSC in this campaign.
Serbia won the FIFA U20 World Championships in New Zealand last year beating Brazil 2-1 in the final but the Irish were unfortunate not to at least draw with the Serbs in Novi Sad last month. The Boys in Green lost 3-2 in a thrilling encounter.
"Everything has gone well since we met up on Tuesday. The boys have all trained well and are all looking forward to this game. I feel that the players are anxious to have a go at Serbia," said King.
"Obviously Serbia are a very highly regarded side and have lots of talent so it will be a tough task but even so we will go into this game in a positive manner.
"In our last game in Waterford against Slovenia we were very good in most aspects both in an attacking and defensive sense and we deserved a 2-0 win. We then went to Serbia and maintained that level of performance, scored twice and felt we deserved a result but unfortunately were narrowly beaten.
"We feel we can produce another good performance against a top ranked side and we will see what happens from there. We are not lacking for motivation and we wont lack for desire.
"There is ten players with this group that are eligible for the next campaign so we will will be looking forward to them building on the experience they have gained in recent months but we are also happy to have the likes of Alan Browne back around the place and the other experienced players like Tommy Hoban and Darragh Lenihan mixing in. Courtney Duffus has also been an asset and we are pleased to have him with us again. However, it is not about the individuals but how the whole group responds."
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:
Liam Bossin (RSC Anderlecht)
Eric Grimes (Cork City)
Stephen McGuinness (Drogheda United)
Thomas Hoban (Watford - on loan at Blackburn)
Eoghan O Connell (Celtic)
Kevin O Connor (Cork City)
Sean Hoare (St Patricks Athletic)
Liam Kinsella (Walsall)
Sean Kavanagh (Fulham)
Shaun Donnellan (WBA)
Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers)
Alan Browne (Preston North End)
Josh Cullen (West Ham - on loan at Bradford)
Connor Dimaio (Chesterfield)
Jack Byrne (Man City - on loan at Blackburn)
Harry Charsley (Everton)
Olamide Shodipo (QPR)
Jake Mulraney (Inverness Caley Thistle)
Courtney Duffus (Everton)
Sean Maguire (Cork City)
FIXTURE
2017 Under-21 Championship Qualifying Round Group 2
Friday, October 7, 2016
Republic of Ireland v Serbia, RSC, Waterford (5.45pm)
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