The snow which yesterday delayed the commencement of our U19 European Championship Group Ten qualifying campaign cleared and our opening fixture against Switzerland took place in the HCS Arena, Salzburg today.
Ireland got off to an excellent start with captain Oisin McEntee scoring after just two minutes. Switzerland, rather like their senior side, are accomplished performers and they took control of proceedings before eventually scoring an equaliser after 57 minutes. Ireland suffered a further bitter blow after 65 minutes with the dismissal of defender Mazeed Ogungbo following the receipt of a second yellow card. The ten men were unable to hold out and Switzerland scored on 79 minutes to take all three points.
Ireland will seek to recover when they face minnows Gibraltar, who were crushed by 14 goals to nil by mini-tournament hosts Austria in today’s other contest, when they meet on Saturday afternoon.
Team:
J Corcoran; F Ebosele, M McGuinness, Oisin McEntee (C), M Ogungbo; A O’Reilly, B Coffey; M Everitt, C Noss, A Okoflex; R Cassidy
Substitutes:
Alex Gilbert for Everitt 46′
Lewis Richards for Okoflex 67′
Tom Cannon for Noss 86′
Tyriek Wright for Cassidy 86′
Fixtures:
Thursday 14 November 2019
11.00 Austria 14-0 Gibraltar
11.00 Switzerland 2-1 Republic of Ireland
Saturday 16 November 2019
15.00 Austria v Switzerland
11.00 Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar
Tuesday 19 November 2019
12.30 Gibraltar v Switzerland
12.30 Republic of Ireland v Austria
Squad
Goalkeepers: Sean Bohan(Bohemian), Jimmy Corcoran(Preston North End)
Defenders: Oisin McEntee(Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness(Arsenal), Mazeed Ogungbo(Arsenal), Andrew Omobamidele(Norwich City), Lewis Richards(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Timi Sobowale(Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jamie Bowden(Tottenham Hotspur), Barry Coffey(Glasgow Celtic), Festy Ebosele(Derby County), Conor Noss(Borussia Monchengladbach), Adam O’Reilly(Preston North End), Ross Tierney(Bohemian)
Forwards: Tom Cannon(Everton), Ryan Cassidy(Watford), Matt Everitt(Brighton & Hove Albion), Alex Gilbert(West Bromwich Albion), Armstrong Oko-Flex(Glasgow Celtic), Tyreik Wright(Aston Villa)