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21.10.2008 at 13:00 Home Farm Ground, Whitehall
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Attendance: |
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Ireland Under 16 |
1 - 3
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N Ireland
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Referee: Hugo Whoriskey |
Friendly / TS-match |
Daniel Purdy (6)
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Jordan Cosgrove 8 mins;
Michael Mc Lellan 37 mins;
Michael Mc Lellan 55 mins; |
Under-16 International Friendly
Republic of Ireland ‘A’ 1-3 Northern Ireland ‘A’
Northern Ireland recorded a deserved victory over the Republic of Ireland at Home Farm FC in Whitehall with the help of a brace from Michael McLellan.
The home side raced into an early lead through Daniel Purdy on six minutes when the Crumlin United striker popped up to convert a loose ball from close range after Carl McHugh’s shot caused hesitancy in the penalty area.
It took just two minutes for Northern Ireland to draw level when Jonathan Cosgrove pounced at the back post to finish off a corner from the left by poking the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Craig Hanlon.
The game continued to excite and Purdy created space for himself to shoot on 12 minutes but his speculative long-range effort curled just over the crossbar.
Northern Ireland took the lead on 37 minutes following a set-piece on the right. Joshua Carson sent in a free-kick and Michael McLellan popped up to send a powerful header to the back of the net from eight yards.
The same pairing combined for the visitors’ third goal after 55 minutes. Carson spotted the run of McLellan and after the striker controlled the pass, he instantly struck a low drive from outside of the box which gave Hanlon no chance.
Ireland were finding chances difficult to come by and the nearest they came to scoring in the second half was through substitute David Murphy whose volley in stoppage-time struck the post.
A match between the ‘B’ squads played on Monday night ended in a 3-3 draw.
Republic of Ireland manager Vincent Butler felt the best team won in Tuesday's match.
“Northern Ireland were better than us today and deserved the victory,” he said. “They looked to have more energy than us and we didn’t play well enough to get something out of the match.
“These two matches were a good exercise for us as we learned a lot about the players. We have played five matches so far in the season of which we’ve won two, lost two and drawn one.
“We will be working with the squad before we get into action with matches in February.”
Republic of Ireland: Craig Hanlon (Shelbourne); James Kavanagh (Belvedere), Michael Barker (Belvedere), Daniel Devine (Crumlin United), Robert Maloney (St. Joseph’s Boys); Brian McGroary (Eany Celtic), Anthony Forde (Ballingarry), Carl McHugh (Dungloe Town), Luke Williams (Middlesborough); Daniel Purdy (Crumlin Utd), Connor Deards (Derby County).
Substitutions: Neil Yadolahi (St. Kevin’s Boys) for Kavanagh and John Mountney (Kiltimagh Knock Utd) for McHugh (both 50 mins), Gary Merritt (Milford United) for McGroary (54 mins), Daniel McGuinness (Crumlin Utd) for Purdy, David Murphy (All Blacks) for Deards and Dean Smith (Belvedere) for Hanlon (all 64 mins), John O’Sullivan (Belvedere) for Forde (70 mins).
Under-16 Friendly Internationals
Monday, October 20
Republic of Ireland ‘B‘ 3-3 Northern Ireland ‘B’
Home Farm FC, Whitehall
Tuesday, October 21
Republic of Ireland ‘A‘ 1-3 Northern Ireland ‘A’
Home Farm FC, Whitehall. |
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