Republic of Ireland Under 21 Manager Stephen Kenny saw his side get his international management career off to an excellent start with a fine three nil victory over Luxembourg in their opening European Championship Qualifier played in Tallaght Stadium this Sunday afternoon. Ireland did take a little while to settle but the opening goal on thirty four minutes from Adam Idah following a Neil Farrugia corner settled any prevailing nerves. Farrugia himself added the second four minutes later following a pass from Connor Ronan and Ronan was again the provider for the third, scored by Idah after sixth eight minutes. Ireland were full value for their victory, having fourteen attempts on goal with eight on target. The only negative aspects of the afternoon were the yellow cards received by centre back pair Conor Masterson and Dara O’Shea while a free kick count of seventeen against six from their opponents will also need to be addressed.
Team:
1.Caoimhin Kelleher;
2.Lee O’Connor, 5.Dara O’Shea, 20.Conor Masterson, 3.Darragh Leahy;
6.Conor Coventry, 8.Jayson Molumby (C), 10.Conor Ronan;
7.Zachery Elbouzedi, 9.Adam Idah, 11.Neil Farrugia
Substitutes:
14.Jamie Lennon for Molumby 78′
15.Daniel Mandroiu for Ronan 86′
18.Michael O’Connor for Idah 90’+1′
19.Aaron Drinan for Farrugia 90’+2′
22.Brandon Kavanagh for Elbouzedi 90’+1′
News
John Delaney steps aside from Chief Executive role…23/03/2019
John Delaney will step aside from his Chief Executive role with immediate effect and will assume a different role within the FAI. His new role of Executive Vice President will have responsibility for all UEFA and FIFA matters including the proposed World Cup 2030 bid with the UK, the Under 21 EURO bid with Northern Ireland and matters pertaining to the Aviva Stadium from an FAI perspective.
The current Chief Operating Officer at the FAI, Rea Walsh, will act as interim Chief Executive Officer with effect from Monday next.
The recruitment process for a new CEO will commence with immediate effect with interviews expected to take place in late April and an appointment ratified by the Board in May 2019.
U21s commence European Championship campaign…24/03/2019
New U21 Manager Stephen Kenny will commence his competitive international career when his Ireland U21 side take on Luxembourg in their opening European Championship qualifying contest at 5pm on Sunday afternoon in Tallaght Stadium. Stephen will select his first competitive starting eleven from a twenty two man squad which has been preparing at FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown during the past week. Injury has forced the withdrawal of strikers Troy Parrott of Tottenham Hotspur and Simon Power of Norwich City who is currently on loan with FC Dordrecht in Holland.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Gavin Bazunu(Manchester City), Caoimhin Kelleher(Liverpool)
Defenders: Trevor Clarke(Shamrock Rovers), Barry Cotter(Ipswich Town), Darragh Leahy(Bohemian), Conor Masterson(Liverpool), Corey Ndaba(Ipswich Town), Lee O’Connor(Manchester United), Dara O’Shea(Exeter City-loan from West Bromwich Albion), Liam Scales(UCD)
Midfielders: Conor Coventry(West Ham United), Jake Doyle-Hayes(Cambridge United-loan from Aston Villa), Brandon Kavanagh(Shamrock Rovers), Jamie Lennon(St Patrick’s Athletic), Daniel Mandroiu(Bohemian), Jayson Molumby(Brighton & Hove Albion), Connor Ronan(FC DAC 1904-loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Forwards: Aaron Drinan(Waterford-loan from Ipswich Town), Zachery Elbouzedi(Waterford), Neil Farrugia(UCD), Adam Idah(Norwich City), Michael O’Connor(Linfield)
Ireland in Saturday International action…23/03/2019
There were four Irish international sides in action today Saturday.
Senior:
The second coming of Mick McCarthy commenced with a ragged one nil victory in Gibraltar on Saturday afternoon when we opened our 2020 European Championship campaign against the hosts in the 2,500 seater Victoria Stadium. The blustery wind and artificial playing surface made the task of playing decent football a huge challenge and we failed the test. In the circumstances, we must be happy to have collected the three points and move on to the challenge which Georgia are likely to present in Dublin on Tuesday night. The winning goal came four minutes into the second half and was scored by Jeff Hendrick, arguably our best player on the day. Just two minutes earlier, Darren Randolph had made an excellent save in his only real action of the evening.
Earlier in the afternoon our Group D opponents Georgia and Switzerland locked horns in Tbilisi with the Swiss scoring two second half goals for victory.
Team:
23. Darren Randolph
2. Seamus Coleman [C]
3. Enda Stevens
4. Shane Duffy
5. Richard Keogh
7. Matt Doherty
8. Sean Maguire
9. David McGoldrick
11. James McClean
13. Jeff Hendrick
17. Conor Hourihane
Substitutes:
1. Keiren Westwood
16. Mark Travers
6. Glenn Whelan
10. Robbie Brady for Doherty 56′
12. Jack Byrne
14. Aiden O’Brien
15. John Egan
18. Josh Cullen
19. Alan Judge
20. James Collins
21. Kevin Long
22. Harry Arter for Maguire 72′
Under 19:
Our Under 19 side, under the guidance of Head Coach Tom Mohan, emerged victorious from their second European Championship Elite Stage qualifying match against Azerbaijan in the Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar at 9am (Irish time) this Saturday morning. Ireland won a tough physical encounter by three goals to one. Ireland took the lead four minutes before the half-time break when Tyriek Wright scored the opening goal. Six minutes into the second half, Will Smallbone missed a penalty but Jason Knight put Ireland two up on sixty three minutes before Azerbaijan pulled one back with a follow up goal after Brian Maher had saved the initial penalty. Captain on the day Jonathan Afolabi put the outcome beyond doubt with the third goal on eighty five minutes.
With mini-tournament hosts Russia being held to a scoreless draw by Romania later in the afternoon, Ireland have already qualified for the Finals to be hosted by Armenia in July 2019.
Ireland will take on Russia in their third and final contest at 2pm (Irish time) on Tuesday afternoon.
Team:
1. Brian Maher
2. Andy Lyons
3. Kameron Ledwidge
4. Jack James
5. Oisin McEntee
8. Jason Knight
9. Jonathan Afolabi [C]
10. Will Smallbone
11. Will Ferry
14. Luca Connell
17. Tyriek Wright
Substitutes:
7. Ali Reghba for Wright 79′
12. Mark McGuinness for James 90’+1′
15. Conor Grant for Smallbone 90’+1′
18. Niall Morahan for Connell 90’+3′
19. Festy Ebosele for Ferry 90’+3′
Under 17 Women:
With Head Coach Colin Bell at the helm, our Under 17 Women took on the might of Germany in their second contest at the Elite Qualifying stage of the 2019 European Championship. The match took place at the Oriam-Indoor, National Performance Centre, Edinburgh at 12pm this Saturday afternoon with Germany emerging victorious by two goals to nil.
Team:
1. Courtney Maguire
2. Therese Kinnevey
3. Shauna Brennan
5. Eabha O’Mahoney [C]
6. Orla Prendergast
7. Emily Whelan
8. Aoibheann Clancy
10. Jessica Ziu
11. Rebecca Cooke
13. Zara Foley
17. Blessing Kingsley
Under 18:
Novice Head Coach Andy Reid took charge of his second Under 18 international contest against Turkey in Istanbul at 10am (Irish time)on Saturday morning and witnessed a much improved performance, in a scoreless draw, after the disappointment of their four nil defeat by the same opposition on Thursday last.
Team:
1. Sean Bohan
3. Jaden Charles
6. Adam O’Reilly
7. Ryan Cassidy
8. Barry Coffey [C]
11. Callum Thompson
12. Max Murphy
13. Ray O’Sullivan
14. Sean Brennan
15. Andrew Spain
18. Donal Higgins
Airtricity League and International action…22/03/2019
Airtricity League Premier Division
International calls reduced the Airtricity League Premier Division programme to just one contest this Friday evening with Finn Harps playing host to Shamrock Rovers in Finn Park. The visiting ‘Hoops’ made the brave decision to proceed with the fixture despite having three players on International duty and their ambition was rewarded with a one nil victory. The winning goal came courtesy of Greg Bolger with just five minutes remaining on the clock.
P W D L F A G/D Pts
Shamrock Rovers 8 6 1 1 12 2 10 19
Dundalk 6 3 3 0 10 3 7 12
Bohemian 6 3 2 1 5 3 2 11
Cork City 6 3 1 2 8 7 1 10
Derry City 6 2 2 2 7 7 – 8
St Patrick’s Athletic 6 2 2 2 3 4 -1 8
Waterford 6 2 1 3 7 9 -2 7
Sligo Rovers 6 2 1 3 5 8 -3 7
UCD 6 1 1 4 5 9 -4 4
Finn Harps 8 0 2 6 6 16 -10 2
Airtricity League First Division
There were four fixtures played in the Airtricity League First Division this Friday evening. Athlone Town went down to a one nil home defeat by Midland rivals Longford Town while Cobh Ramblers defeated Shelbourne by two goals to one in St Colman’s Park. Galway United lost to the only goal from Drogheda United in Eamonn Deacy Park with struggling Wexford producing the shock of the evening with a two nil victory over Bray Wanderers in Ferrycarrig Park.
The remaining fixture between Cabinteely and Limerick took place at Stradbrook at 2.30pm on Saturday afternoon and saw the visitors emerge victorious by two goals to one.
P W D L F A G/D Pts
Shelbourne 5 3 0 2 11 7 4 9
Bray Wanderers 5 3 0 2 6 3 3 9
Athlone Town 5 3 0 2 6 5 1 9
Longford Town 4 2 2 0 5 1 4 8
Limerick 5 2 2 1 5 4 1 8
Cabinteely 5 2 1 2 9 9 – 7
Drogheda United 5 2 1 2 6 7 -1 7
Cobh Ramblers 5 2 0 3 9 10 -1 6
Galway United 4 1 0 3 6 5 1 3
Wexford 5 1 0 4 5 17 -12 3
U17 International
Our U17 international side continued their preparations for the European Championship Finals in May with the first contest of a double header against visitors Finland in the RSC Waterford this Friday evening. The match ended in a disappointing one nil defeat with Head Coach Colin O’Brien clearly disappointed with the below par performance of his young charges.
The two sides will meet again in Tallaght Stadium at 1pm on Monday afternoon.
Team:
1. Harry Halwax
2. Seamas Keogh [C]
3. James Furlong
5. Anselmo Garcia McNulty
6. Joe Hodge
7. Matt Everitt
9. Joshua Giurgi
10. Conor Carty
11. Ronan McKinley
17. Sean McEvoy
18. Timi Sobowale
Substitutes:
4. Ademipo Odubeko for McEvoy 62′
8. Brandon Holt for Everitt 62′
12. Toby Owens for Hodge 88′
14. Charlie McCann for McKinley 46′
15. Sean Kennedy for Carty 62′
Squad
Goalkeepers: Jimmy Corcoran(Preston North End), Harry Halwax(Derby County)
Defenders: James Furlong(Shamrock Rovers), Sean McEvoy(Ballinamallard United), Anselmo Garcia McNulty(Real Betis), Ademipo Odubeko(Manchester United), Andrew Omobamidele(Norwich City), Timi Sobowale(Manchester City), Luke Turner(Aberdeen)
Midfielders: Joe Hodge(Manchester City), Brandon Holt(St Patrick’s Athletic), Seamas Keogh(Southampton), Charlie McCann(Manchester United), Ronan McKinley(Derry City), Toby Owens(Shamrock Rovers)
Forwards: Conor Carty(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Matt Everitt(Brighton & Hove Albion), Joshua Giurgi(Norwich City), Sean Kennedy(Sunderland)
U18 International
Our newly appointed U18 Head Coach Andy Reid suffered a baptism of fire in his first contest at the helm when our U18 side crashed to a four nil friendly international defeat by hosts Turkey in Istanbul on Thursday morning. The sides are set to meet again at the same venue at 10am (Irish time) on Saturday morning when Andy will be seeking a much improved performance from his charges.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Sean Bohan(Bohemian), Bobby Jones(Wigan Athletic)
Defenders: Eirah Cashin(Derby County), Jaden Charles(Derby County), Max Murphy(Stoke City), Shadrach Ogie(Leyton Orient), Ray O’Sullivan(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Andrew Spain(Shamrock Rovers), Reece Staunton(Bradford City)
Midfielders: Sean Brennan(Longford Town-loan from Southampton), Barry Coffey(Glasgow Celtic), Donal Higgins(Galway United), Adam O’Reilly(Preston North End), Callum Thompson(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Ross Tierney(Bohemian), Louie Watson(West Ham United)
Forwards: Ryan Cassidy(Watford), George Nunn(Chelsea)
U17 Women draw with Norway…20/03/2019
Our U17 Women,under the stewardship of Head Coach Colin Bell, played out a one all draw with Norway in their opening contest of the 2019 European Championship Elite Stage qualification process played in Edinburgh early this Wednesday evening. Ireland took the lead on seventy minutes through Rebecca Cooke but conceded the equaliser from a penalty kick just two minutes later.
Earlier in the day, top seeds Germany defeated the mini-tournament hosts Scotland by five goals to nil.
U19s commence Elite Stage qualifiers…20/03/2019
Head Coach Tom Mohan saw his Ireland U19 side commence their European Championship Elite Qualifying Stage challenge with an emphatic five nil victory over Romania at the Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar in Russia this Wednesday morning. Ireland got off to an excellent start with early goals from Southampton duo Jonathan Afolabi and Will Smallbone in the 7th and 11th minutes respectively, putting them in command at half-time. Second half goals from both Afolabi and Smallbone again, together with an own goal, cemented an excellent opening performance. With four players from the qualifying stage, Conor Coventry, Adam Idah, Lee O’Connor and Troy Parrott selected in the U21 squad and injury ruling out Nathan Collins and the still eligible Michael Obafemi, although the latter was likely to have been selected in the senior squad, the portents look very promising.
Later in the afternoon, mini-tournament hosts Russia played out a scoreless draw with Azerbaijan.
Starting Eleven:
1. Brian Maher (St Patrick’s Athletic)
2. Andy Lyons (Bohemian)
3. Kameron Ledwidge (Southampton)
4. Jack James (Luton Town)
5. Oisin McEntee (Newcastle United)
6. Aaron Bolger (Shamrock Rovers)[C]
7. Ali Reghba (Bohemian)
8. Jason Knight (Derby County)
9. Jonathan Afolabi (Southampton)
10. Will Smallbone (Southampton)
11. Will Ferry (Southampton)
Substitutions
14.Luca Connell (Bolton Wanderers) for Smallbone 71′
22.Richie O’Farrell (UCD)for Reghba 71′
12.Mark McGuinness (Arsenal) for James 80′
17.Tyriek Wright (Aston Villa) for Ferry 80′
13.Tom Gaston (Bordeaux)for Lyons 84′