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05.10.2017 at 19:45 Tallaght Stadium, Dublin
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Attendance: |
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Referee: Luis Miguel Branco Godinho (POR) |
European Qualifier / PROG-match |
Kieran O Hara
Corey Whelan
Shaun Donnellan
Danny Kane
Ryan Manning
Declan Rice
Ryan Sweeney
Henry Charsley
Josh Cullen
Ronan Curtis
Reece Grego-Cox
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Rossbach (GK),
Ryerson,
Hanche-Olsen,
Ajer,
Jenssen,
Normann,
Fossum (C),
Thorsby,
Risa,
Odegaard,
Bjordal |
Ireland held to goalless draw
Republic of Ireland Under-21s were held to a goalless draw at Tallaght Stadium as they remain unbeaten in their UEFA Under-21 European Championships campaign.
QPR forward's Ryan Manning and Reece Grego-Cox had the best chances of the game in a dominant second-half spell but Norway held out to claim a point.
Head Coach Noel King stuck with the same team which claimed the impressive 3-1 win in Azerbaijan but it was a frustrating first-half for the home side.
QPR duo Grego-Cox and Manning linked well up front but failed to test the Norwegian goalkeeper Sondre Rossbach throughout the first-half.
Ireland's first real effort came with just under 30 minutes remaining as Derry City forward Ronan Curtis won the ball 30-yards from goal and after a neat turn-off-pace away from Iver Fossum, his shot bounced in front of Rossbach but was well saved.
With 20 minutes remaining, Ireland should have taken the lead. Liverpool's Corey Whelan delivered a fantastic set-piece from the right and Rossbach missed his punch under pressure from Manning but Norway cleared with Declan Rice close to following up.
Curtis fired wide from distance as Ireland continued to press forward in search of a winner which almost came in the 74th minute. Manning's powerful free-kick somehow found it's way into Rossbach's arms and two minutes later, Ireland had strong claims for a penalty turned down after Curtis was brought down in the area.
Ireland's pressure continued to mount as Manning got in down the left to find Danny Kane in the area and after his low effort was saved, Grego-Cox failed to turn the ball home with ten minutes remaining.
Connor Ronan came on with two minutes remaining but unfortunately, Norway were able to hold out to claim a valuable point as Ireland remain unbeaten.
Ireland Under-21s Head Coach Noel King said: "Norway are a good team. They've got a system and they play it well so it was always going to be a difficult match for us.
"I thought we stood up to the test really well and probably deserved to come away with a little bit more from the game. They caused us some problems in the first-half but I thought we dealt with those situations well and we were definitely the better team in the second-half.
"They were chasing the game in terms of the position in the table and we're now sitting on seven points out of nine so we're happy with what we've got so far."
Teams
Republic of Ireland: O'Hara (GK), Kane, Whelan, Donnellan, Sweeney, Cullen (C), Rice, Charsley, Grego-Cox, Manning (Ronan 87), Curtis.
Subs: Bossin (GK), Quigley, Kinsella, Shaughnessy, Mulraney, Delaney.
Norway: Rossbach (GK), Ryerson, Hanche-Olsen, Ajer, Jenssen, Normann (Johnsen 6 (Svendsen 79)), Fossum (C), Thorsby, Risa, Odegaard, Bjordal.
Subs: Wichen (GK), Reitan, Pallesen Knudsen, Zekhnini.
Referee: Luis Miguel Branco Godinho (POR) |
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