U21s complete European qualifying campaign…16/10/2018

With only pride at stake, Ireland completed their failed European Under 21 Championship qualifying campaign with a two nil defeat by Germany in Heidenheim this Tuesday afternoon. The team did deliver a much improved performance from that provided in the home fixture against today’s opponents, which they lost by six goals to nil but nevertheless the outcome was never really in doubt. Ireland defended resolutely for the first thirty minutes but goals on thirty two and forty minutes secured a comfortable victory for Germany.

Team: Liam Bossin (Nottingham Forest); Corey Whelan (Liverpool-Loan-Crewe Alexandra), Ryan Delaney (Rochdale), Ryan Sweeney (Stoke City-Loan-Mansfield Town), Danny Kane (Cork City-Loan-AFC Fylde); Shaun Donnellan (Yeovil Town), Josh Cullen [C] (West Ham United-Loan-Charlton Athletic), Liam Kinsella (Walsall); Jordan Shipley (Coventry City), Ronan Hale (Birmingham City-Loan-Derry City), Jamie McGrath (Dundalk)
Substitutions: Jimmy Dunne (Burnley-Loan-Hearts) for Kane 65′ and Reece Grego-Cox (Crawley Town) for Hale 77′

 

U19s complete European Qualifying round…16/10/2018

With qualification for the Elite Stage already assured, Ireland and Holland went head to head in City Calling Stadium, Longford at 1pm on Tuesday afternoon to determine who would top Qualifying Group Ten and secure the Pot One seeding in the Elite Stage draw. Holland held the advantage by virtue of their better goal difference, so Ireland had to win if they were to top the Group and with an excellent performance they did, coming from behind to secure a two one victory. The Dutch took the lead on fifteen minutes but Ireland responded and equalised through Norwich City striker Adam Idah after twenty nine minutes. Ireland created several more scoring opportunities than their opponents and finally got their deserved winner on seventy minutes through Southampton striker Will Ferry. The only blemish on an otherwise excellent performance was the yellow card received by Stoke City centre back Nathan Collins in added time, his second of this qualifying group, which will rule him out of the opening contest in the Elite Group Stage. 

Packie Bonner & Special Guests – ’88 & ’98 Remembered

Special Guests on the night Packie Bonner, Tony Galvin & Thomas Morgan

’88 & ’98 Remembered – Special celebratory evening

The London Branch of the Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporters Club hosted a Special Celebratory Event at the Claddagh Ring in Hendon on the evening of Saturday 6th October 2018. The function revived fond memories relating to the achievement of our Senior International Football Team in reaching the finals of the European Championship for the first time thirty years ago in 1988.

Packie Bonner 1We also celebrated the excellent third place finish of our Under 20 side at the 1997 World Championship Finals in Malaysia and the magnificent victories of both our Under 16 and Under 18 sides who became European Champions twenty years ago – the first nation to ever achieve this double success.

We were delighted to be joined on the night by Packie Bonner and Tony Galvin, two stalwarts of that summer of 1988 in Germany together with Thomas Morgan, the captain of our World Bronze Medal winning Under 20 side.

Packie Bonner 2

Our three guests provided us with a whole array of fabulous memories of those golden years and it was clearly evident that each of them held nothing but the warmest feelings, gratitude and respect for their respective managers, Jack Charlton and Brian Kerr.

Our evening was enhanced by the excellent meal, service and surroundings provided by Finbar and his team at the Claddagh Ring, while DJ Shox found favour with his exemplary choice of music.

Packie Bonner 3We are grateful to those of our members who, together with their families and friends, took time to join us on the evening and for the many positive plaudits and acknowledgements offered to the Club.

Some feedback from attendees:
"Had a nice day on Sunday with Wesley (Hoolihan) telling him how great the night before went at the Function. Thanks again for the invite, myself and Louise (wife) had a great time on Saturday and met a lot of lovely people who made us feel really welcome." Thomas Morgan
"Thanks for last night. Great to see Packie and Gerry again. An enjoyable evening. Cheers." Tony Galvin
"We thoroughly enjoyed Saturday night for which many thanks." RISSC London Member
"What a Great Time we had at The Claddagh Ring on Saturday Night celebrating in the company of The Sporting Legends of our Youthful Days supporting The Boys in Green ie. Remembering them Momentous Days of Irish Soccer which gave us such Wonderful and Unique Times celebrating in The London Pubs toasting their great achievements on Foreigh Fields; The Company and Craic was Mighty; The Food and Drink was Lovely; Music was Great and The Guests of Honour complimented the evening with their Tales of Days gone By." RISSC London Member

Senior Squad update for Wales encounter…15/10/2018

Preparation for the UEFA Nations League clash with Wales in the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday evening continue, with head injury victim Callum O’Dowda the only reported casualty from Saturday’s draw with Denmark. Portsmouth striker Ronan Curtis has been summoned from the U21 squad to link up with the senior squad at the NTC in Abbotstown. News has emerged that the visitors will be without their talisman Gareth Bale, who has returned to Madrid because of an ongoing injury while Aaron Ramsey will also miss the match for personal reasons. .   

Ireland in scoreless draw with Denmark…13/10/2018

Ireland played out a scoreless UEFA Nations League draw with Denmark in a damp and dispirited Aviva Stadium this Saturday evening. The starting eleven, with just one left sided player, James McClean, selected, provided much room for thought and speculation. Few, if any, anticipated the deployment of Cyrus Christie in a central midfield role, where he delivered a reasonable performance and had Ireland’s only real effort on goal, which forced an excellent save from the Danish goalkeeper. Darren Randolph was much the busier goalkeeper and produced a number of fine saves while Shane Long battled exhaustively in the lone striker role. The half-time introduction of the left footed Enda Stevens for the injured Callum O’Dowda instigated a better balance to the team while the arrival of Calum Robinson on sixty five minutes offered hope as he provided an improved technical element to the attack. Denmark dominated possession and had several efforts on goal but the retention of a clean sheet should give our defenders an element of satisfaction. We now go into Tuesday night’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Wales with  a greater sense of hope, even expectation, of further improvement. 

U19s continue European Qualifying campaign…13/10/2018

Following their opening victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina, our U19 side took on the Faroe Islands, who lost their opening match against Holland, in their second European Championship Group Ten qualifying contest at the City Calling Stadium, Longford on Saturday afternoon. A difficult first half ended scoreless and it was midway through the second half before the breakthrough came with Troy Parrott scoring from the penalty spot. The Tottenham Hotspur player added a second ten minutes later and completed his hat-trick with another penalty four minutes into added time. Later at 7pm, Bosnia & Herzegovina met Holland and were crushed by six goals to nil in Eamonn Deacy Park, Galway. Today’s results mean that both Holland and Ireland progress to the next Elite Stage with their Tuesday afternoon meeting in Longford set to determine who will top the Group and earn a top rank seeding in the Elite Stage draw. 

IRN-BRU Scottish League Cup…13/10/2018

The third round of the IRN-BRU Scottish League Cup took place this weekend, with Airtricity League representatives Bohemian and Sligo Rovers both in action. The ‘Gypsies’ welcomed English side Sutton United to Dalymount Park where the sides played out a scoreless draw before Bohemian progressed to the quarter-final stage following their 4-3 penalty shoot-out success.  The’Bit o’ Red’ travelled to face Motherwell Colts in Fir Park and exited the competition following a two nil defeat.