European Championship Qualifier
17.09.2011 at 19:00 - Dr. Américo Couto - Mealhada
Republic of Ireland Women's Under-19 squad Head Coach Dave Connell has named his squad of 18 for the upcoming UEFA Championship first phase qualifiers in Portugal.
Ireland open their campaign by facing the host nation on Saturday September 17 at the Dr. Américo Couto Stadium in Mealhada (7pm) before taking on Israel two days later at the De Anadia Stadium in Anadia (5pm). The concluding fixture of the four-nation mini-group is set for Thursday September 22 when the Irish go up against Hungary at the Luso Training Centre (7pm).
A finish in the either of the top two places in the group will secure Connell's side progression into the next phase.
Germany, France and England have byes through this initial stage courtesy of their highest coefficients.
They await the 21 qualifiers (the top two in each group and the third-placed team with the best record against the top two in their section) in November's draw for the elite phase in Nyon.
Seven teams will advance from the second qualifying round in spring to join hosts Turkey at the final tournament in Antalya between 2 and 14 July 2012.
An Irish team has never reached the Women's Under-19 European Championships but hopes are high that this group can fare well in their campaign.
The majority of players were part of the Republic of Ireland Under-17 squad which finished runner-up at the 2010 UEFA Under-17 finals, before going on to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup later in the year.
Megan Campbell and Denise O'Sullivan have since been promoted to the senior squad from the Under-17s.
Four of the squad - Laura Lynch, Lauren Murphy, Emma Farmer and goalkeeper Amanda Budden) - hail from FAI Senior cup finalists Wilton United. Tramore in Waterford supply two players in Jessica Gleeson and Ciara O'Brien.
Salthill Devon's Dora Gorman captains the squad, with Ciara Grant from Donegal nominated as vice-captain.
In their warm-up matches, Ireland defeated Wales, drew twice with England away, before being held last weekend by Northern Ireland.
The focus for the team will be the first game against Portugal, in which to hope to kick-start their campaign.
He said: "This is a very tough group we've been drawn in but we've prepared well and it's all about getting the right result against Portugal.
"We probably played well enough to have beaten England in the double-header but the important thing was the display from the Girls.
"We'll assemble next week in Dublin and train for two days before flying to Portugal."
UEFA Under-19 Women's European Championship
Group 2
Saturday 17 September
Portugal v Republic of Ireland (7pm) - Dr. Américo Couto Stadium, Mealhada
Hungary v Israel (5pm) - Oliveira do Bairro Municipal Stadium
Monday 19 September
Israel v Republic of Ireland (5pm) - De Anadia Stadium, Anadia
Hungary v Portugal (7pm) - Dr. Américo Couto Stadium, Mealhada
Thursday 22 September
Republic of Ireland v Hungary (7pm) - Luso Training Center
Portugal v Israel (7pm) - Agueda Municipal Stadium
Republic of Ireland Under-19 Women's squad:
Grace Maloney (Reading)
Amanda Budden (Wilton United)
Stacey Donnelly (Reading)
Harriet Scott (Reading)
Laura Lynch (Wilton United)
Lauren Murphy (Wilton United)
Emma Farmer (Wilton United)
Claire Shine (Douglas Hall)
Jennifer Byrne (Bealnamulla)
Jessica Glesson (Tramore AFC)
Ciara O'Brien (Tramore AFC)
Ciara Grant (Kilmacrennan Celtic)
Dora Gorman (Salthill Devon)
Aileen Gilroy (Killala)
Carol Hegarty (Ballina)
Lois Roche (Watford - on loan from Arsenal)
Emma Hansbury (Strand Celtic)
Siobhan Killeen (Raheny United).
UEFA Championship First qualifying round:
Group 1: Norway, Netherlands, Bulgaria (hosts), Croatia
Group 2: Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Portugal (hosts)
Group 3: Czech Republic, Poland, Cyprus, Estonia (hosts)
Group 4: Iceland (hosts), Wales, Slovenia, Kazakhstan
Group 5: Sweden, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia (hosts)
Group 6: Austria, Italy, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (hosts), Armenia
Group 7: Finland (hosts), Scotland, Belarus, Faroe Islands
Group 8: Denmark, Russia, Greece, Latvia (hosts)
Group 9: Belgium (hosts), Romania, Northern Ireland, Lithuania
Group 10: Spain, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina (hosts), Moldova
Byes to second qualifying round: Germany (holders), France, England
|
