News

A groin injury sustained in training on Monday morning has forced the withdrawal of Shane Long from the Ireland squad for the upcoming contests with Gibraltar and Georgia and he will be replaced in the  squad by Millwall attacker  Aiden O’Brien. The energetic O’Brien had a fine game for his club in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion and scored an excellent goal.

Revised Squad

Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph(Middlesbrough), Mark Travers(AFC Bournemouth), Keiren Westwood(Sheffield Wednesday)
Defenders: Seamus Coleman(Everton), Matt Doherty(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Shane Duffy(Brighton & Hove Albion), John Egan(Sheffield United), Richard Keogh(Derby County), Kevin Long(Burnley), Enda Stevens(Sheffield United)
Midfielders: Harry Arter(Cardiff City-on loan from AFC Bournemouth), Robbie Brady(Burnley), Jack Byrne(Shamrock Rovers, Josh Cullen(Charlton Athletic-on loan from West Ham United), Jeff Hendrick(Burnley), Conor Hourihane(Aston Villa), Alan Judge(Ipswich Town), James McClean(Stoke City), Glenn Whelan(Aston Villa)
Forwards: James Collins(Luton Town),  Sean Maguire(Preston North End), David McGoldrick(Sheffield United), Aiden O’Brien(Millwall)

 

Injury has forced  the withdrawal of seventeen year old Tottenham Hotspur striker Troy Parrott and fellow striker Simon Power of Norwich City, who is currently on loan at FC Dordrecht in Holland, from the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifier against Luxembourg at Tallaght Stadium on Sunday afternoon next. Shamrock Rovers midfielder Brandon Kavanagh has now been called up to the squad.

REVISED 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-on loan from WBA), Liam Scales(UCD)
Midfielders: Conor Coventry(West Ham United), Jake Doyle-Hayes(Cambridge United-on loan from Aston Villa), Jamie Lennon(St Patrick’s Athletic), Daniel Mandroiu(Bohemian), Jayson Molumby(Brighton & Hove Albion), Connor Ronan(FC Dac 1904-on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers), Brandon Kavanagh(Shamrock Rovers)
Forwards: Aaron Drinan(Waterford-on loan from Ipswich Town), Zachery Elbouzedi(Waterford), Neil Farrugia(UCD), Adam Idah(Norwich City), Michael O’Connor(Linfield)

The 29th FAI International Awards were presented on Sunday evening at a ceremony hosted by RTE.

The principal recipients were:-

Senior Men’s International: Shane Duffy
Senior Women’s International: Leanne Kiernan
Men’s Under 21: Ronan Curtis
Men’s Under 19: Lee O’Connor
Women’s Under 19: Niamh Farrelly
Men’s Under 18: Brian Maher
Men’s Under 17: Adam Idah
Women’s Under 17: Emily Whelan
Men’s Under 16: Troy Parrott
Women’s Under 16: Jessica Ziu
Men’s Under 15: Anselmo Garcia McNulty
SSE Airtricity League: Chris Shields
Hall of Fame: Emma Byrne and Richard Dunne
Special Merit: Brendan Bradley
International Personality: Kakha Kaladze (Georgia) 

 

Head Coaches Tom Mohan, Andy Reid, Colin O’Brien and Colin Bell have named their respective Under 19, Under 18, Under 17 and Women’s Under 17 Squads for their various upcoming international commitments.

Under 19 – European Championship Elite Stage in Russia
Goalkeepers: Brian Maher(St Patrick’s Athletic), George McMahon(Burnley)
Defenders: Tom Gaston(Bordeaux), Jack James(Luton Town), Kameron Ledwidge(Southampton), Andy Lyons(Bohemian), Oisin McEntee(Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness(Arsenal)
Midfielders: Aaron Bolger(Shamrock Rovers), Luca Connell(Bolton Wanderers), Conor Grant(Sheffield Wednesday), Jason Knight(Derby County), Niall Morahan(Sligo Rovers), Richie O’Farrell(UCD), Will Smallbone(Southampton)
Forwards: Jonathan Afolabi(Southampton), Festy Ebosele(Derby County), Will Ferry(Southampton), Ali Reghba(Bohemian), Tyriek Wright(Aston Villa)
Fixtures
Wednesday 20 March: Romania v Republic of Ireland
Saturday 23 March: Azerbaijan v Republic of Ireland
Tuesday 26 March: Russia v Republic of Ireland

Under 18 – Friendly Internationals in Turkey
Goalkeepers: Sean Bohan(Bohemian), Bobby Jones(Wigan Athletic)
Defenders: Eiran 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), 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)
Fixtures
Thursday 21 March: Turkey v Republic of Ireland
Saturday 23 March: Turkey v Republic of Ireland

Under 17 – Friendly Internationals against Finland
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)
Fixtures
Friday 22 March: Republic of Ireland v Finland  19.00 RSC Waterford
Monday 25 March: Republic of Ireland v Finland  13.00 Tallaght

Under 17 Women – European Championship Elite Stage in Scotland
Goalkeepers: Courtney Maguire(Shelbourne WFC), Maeve Williams(Wexford WFC)
Defenders: Shauna Brennan(Galway WFC), Mia Dodd(Shelbourne WFC), Ellie Ferguson(Shelbourne WFC), Zara Foley(Cork City WFC), Therese Kinnevey(Galway WFC), Eabha O’Mahony(Cork City WFC)
Midfielders: Aoibheann Clancy(Limerick WFC), Rebecca Cooke(Shelbourne WFC), Della Doherty(Peamount United), Erin McLaughlin(Sea Rovers FC), Orla Prendergast(Peamount United), Taylor White(Shelbourne WFC)
Forwards: Lauren Egbuloniu(Cork City WFC), Blessing Kingsley(Wexford WFC), Emily Kraft(FFC Frankfurt), Sophie Liston(Limerick WFC), Emily Whelan(Shelbourne WFC), Jessica Ziu(Shelbourne WFC)
Fixtures
Wednesday 20 March: Norway v Republic of Ireland
Saturday 23 March: Germany v Republic of Ireland
Tuesday 26 March: Scotland v Republic of Ireland

 

Injury has forced the withdrawal of Callum O’Dowda from the Ireland squad to face Gibraltar on Saturday next and he will be replaced in the travelling squad by Shamrock Rovers midfielder Jack Byrne. The enigmatic Dubliner was watched on Friday evening by the whole Irish management team and received many plaudits for his fine performance in the ‘Hoops’ three nil victory over visitors Sligo Rovers.

Revised Squad

Goalkeepers: Darren Randolph(Middlesbrough), Mark Travers(AFC Bournemouth), Keiren Westwood(Sheffield Wednesday)
Defenders: Seamus Coleman(Everton), Matt Doherty(Wolverhampton Wanderers), Shane Duffy(Brighton & Hove Albion), John Egan(Sheffield United), Richard Keogh(Derby County), Kevin Long(Burnley), Enda Stevens(Sheffield United)
Midfielders: Harry Arter(Cardiff City-on loan from AFC Bournemouth), Robbie Brady(Burnley), Jack Byrne(Shamrock Rovers, Josh Cullen(Charlton Athletic-on loan from West Ham United), Jeff Hendrick(Burnley), Conor Hourihane(Aston Villa), Alan Judge(Ipswich Town), James McClean(Stoke City), Glenn Whelan(Aston Villa)
Forwards: James Collins(Luton Town), Shane Long(Southampton), Sean Maguire(Preston North End), David McGoldrick(Sheffield United)

 

FA Cup Quarter-Final
The one remaining FA Cup quarter-final tie between Millwall and Brighton & Hove Albion, to determine who would face Manchester City  in the semi-finals, took place at the New Den this Sunday afternoon and saw Chris Hughton‘s Brighton & Hove Albion progress after a poor contest but with a dramatic ending. The hosts, currently struggling in the Championship, included Aiden O’Brien, Shaun Williams and Derby County loanee Alex Pearce in their starting eleven while Shane Duffy filled his centre back role for the Premier League visitors. The visitors were far from their best but might have progressed in normal time save for some dreadful errors by the match officials. Shane Duffy was clearly fouled in the home area and a penalty kick should have ensued while the opening goal for the ‘Lions’ should have been disallowed for a clear foul in the area following a corner kick. That opening score on 70 minutes was converted by Alex Pearce and when Aiden O’Brien scored a fine second on seventy nine minutes, the ‘Seagulls’ looked doomed. With eighty eight minutes on the clock, Brighton reduced the deficit and in the fifth and final  minute of added time they equalised. Brighton then totally dominated extra time but no further goals were recorded although they did score a perfectly legitimate goal which was erroneously ruled out for offside, thus compounding the officiating errors. The penalty shoot out was no less dramatic with Brighton missing the opening spot kick but following a later miss from the home side, justice was done with Brighton progressing on a five four shootout score line. The second semi-final will be between Watford and Matt Doherty‘s Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Premier League
Fulham introduced Cyrus Christie from their substitute bench after seventy three minutes of this afternoon’s Premier League contest with Championship chasing Liverpool at Craven Cottage where the visitors maintained their title challenge with a two one victory. 
Following his late withdrawal through illness from last weekend’s defeat at Newcastle United, Seamus Coleman returned as expected to  the Everton starting line up for their Premier League contest with Goodison Park visitors Chelsea later this Sunday afternoon. The host ‘Toffees’ gave a an insipid first half performance and the visitors should really have been out of sight but they failed to convert any of several scoring opportunities. The second period was dramatically different with the hosts bursting into life and scoring twice for a well merited victory. Captain Coleman was in excellent form during that second period and looked very much back to his best.

Premier League
Burnley went down to a two one home defeat by Leicester City at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. Robbie Brady was a seventy ninth minute substitute while Jeff Hendrick remained unused on the substitute bench. International retiree Stephen Ward and late call up Kevin Long have been out of favour recently and again found themselves missing from the matchday squad.

FA Cup
Matt Doherty and his Wolverhampton Wanderers colleagues are set to take on Molineaux visitors Manchester United in the FA Cup Sixth Round at 19.55hours on Saturday evening.

Championship
Elland Road hosted the ‘Yorkshire Derby’ meeting of Leeds United and Sheffield United at 12.30pm on Saturday afternoon and saw the visiting ‘Blades’ score the only goal to leapfrog their rivals into  second place on the Championship League Table. The victors included John Egan, Enda Stevens and David McGoldrick in their starting eleven with Aston Villa loanee Scott Hogan an unused substitute.  Aston Villa included the evergreen Glenn Whelan in their starting eleven as they maintained their play-off challenge with a three nil victory over Middlesbrough and Darren Randolph at Villa Park. Alan Judge has been gaining plaudits for his performances with Ipswich Town and was again in action as they played out a one all draw with visitors Nottingham Forest at Portman Road. Sean Maguire scored the only goal for Preston North End four minutes into added time as they overcame their visitors Birmingham City.  Injury ruled out Alan Browne but long term injury victim Callum Robinson returned to action as a sixtieth minute substitute. Sheffield Wednesday and Keiren Westwood defeated visitors Blackburn Rovers by four goals to two at Hillsborough while James McClean and Stoke City were held to a scoreless draw by visitors Reading.

League One
Late international call-up Josh Cullen, on loan at Charlton Athletic from West Ham United, was in League One action in their scoreless draw at Bristol Rovers while James Collins was in action for leaders Luton Town who were held to a two all draw by visitors Gillingham at Kenilworth Road.