Serbia 0-0 Ireland
Tom Mohan’s Ireland U17s finished the invitational tournament in Telki, Hungary, on Saturday, August 9, with a 0-0 draw against Serbia.
Ireland started positively pressing high up the pitch throughout the first half. Joshua Barret produced the best of the opening chances for Ireland when he lobbed the keeper and hit the bar 12 minutes into the game. Chances also came from Conor Masterson (18 mins) and Darragh Leahy (22 mins) both putting the Serbian keeper to the test producing full length saves to his near post on both occasions.
The game was not without incident with a heavy tackling Serbian team picking up 4 cards in the first half which led to free kicks for Ireland. However, none produced any shots on target.
Ireland again commenced the second half at a very high tempo holding the ball for long periods. The best chance of the game for Ireland came when Trevor Clarke broke in one on one with the Serbian Keeper, but a great one handed save from the Serbian Number 1 denied a change in the scoreboard.
Serbia then came close on the counter attack hitting the bar, then the rebound was blocked down by the Irish defence.
In added time Ireland had another chance to win it when both Johua Barret and Conor Davis broke through and both failed to trouble the Serbia Goal.
Speaking after the game, U17 head coach Tom Mohan said, ‘We definitely created most of the chances in the game, so I’m disappointed that we didn’t get a better result. That said, the game stretched in the second half and it could have gone either way.’ He then reflected on the tournament, ‘It’s been a great week and we’re looking towards the bigger picture here, which is out upcoming European qualifiers. The players worked hard and showed great discipline. We were lucky not to pick up any serious injuries.’
Ireland: Ross Treacy (Caoimhin Kelleher 45’) , Robert McCourt, Conor Masterson, Zachary Elbouzedi, Johua Barret, Brandon Payne, Jean Yves Poame, Darragh Leahy, Louis Dunne, Shane Hanney, Conor Levingston. |