Friendly
01.09.2015 at 15:00 - Bük
THE Republic of Ireland U17 side commence their campaign tomorrow with the first of two friendly internationals against Hungary in the western town on Bük (4.00pm Irish).
Tom Mohan tall.jpg
31st Aug 2015
Tom Mohan's side reached the UEFA U17 Championships Finals in Bulgaria last season and are now looking towards qualifying for the 2016 finals in Azerbaijan.
Ireland were drawn in Qualifying Round Group 3 which takes place in Finland later this month. They meet the Finns on September 24 then Malta two days later before their final fixture against Sweden on September 29.
"We are expecting two good tests this week. The players came in on Saturday and we've worked with them for a few days now to prepare for these games," said Mohan.
"Between a training game with UK-based players and assessment of home-based players we've looked at more than 60 players directly while we've also watched a lot of players in the SSE Airtricity U17 League.
" It is very warm here so that will make for an interesting test for the players. These fixtures will help us get prepared for the qualifiers next month. We have some new faces in and we're looking forward to working with them.
"The likes of Kian Flanagan from Crystal Palace and Canice Carroll from Oxford United will be interesting to see how they settle in while Caoimhin Fowler and Ryan Nolan are two Irish-born players with clubs outside of the UK that will also be interesting to work with.
"We've also brought in two players who can play U16 this year in Aaron Connolly and Lee O'Connor both doing very well in the Mayo Cup so it'll be good to see how they do at this age-group."
Mohan's options were limited by injuries to a number of players including Anthony Scully, Aaron O'Driscoll and Glen McAuley.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U17 SQUAD:
Mark Travers (Shamrock Rovers)
Paul Martin (St Patrick's Athletic)
Daniel McKenna (Wolves)
Tyreke Wilson (Manchester City)
Rian O'Sullivan (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Declan Rice (West Ham United)
Dara O'Shea (West Bromwich Albion)
Alec Byrne (Cork City)
Canice Carroll (Oxford United)
Callum Nicell (Leeds United)
Jack Clarke (Aston Villa)
Jayson Molumby (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Kian Flanagan (Crystal Palace)
James Finnerty (Aston Villa)
Michael Cregan (Stevenage FC)
Caoimhin Fowler (Vitesse Arnhem)
Aaron Connolly (Mervue United)
Lee O'Connor (Villa FC)
Luke Kiely (Waterford United)
Ryan Nolan (Inter Milan)
FIXTURES
Tuesday, September 1
U17 International Friendly
Hungary v Republic of Ireland, Bük (HUN), 16:00 (Irish Time).
Thursday, September 3
U17 International Friendly
Hungary v Republic of Ireland, Bük (HUN), 10:00 (Irish Time).
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