Ireland U16: Victory Shield retained after Scotland win
The Republic of Ireland Under 16s have won the Victory Shield for the second year in a row, after defeating Scotland 2-0 in Bangor.
27th Oct 2017
Paul Osam's side knew a win would be enough to win the trophy, and goals from Matt Everitt and Armstrong Oko-Flex ensured that Ireland ended the competition with seven points from three games.
Everitt's goal came in the 39th-minute, after he was first to react to a Troy Parrott shot that was saved by Scotland goalkeeper Harry Stone. Everitt headed home after Parrott's shot hit the post to score just before the break.
In an entertaining second-half, the win was assured in the 65th-minute by Oko-Flex. Running in from the left-wing, he exchanged a pass with Everitt, before rolling the ball into the Scottish net from the edge of the box.
Speaking after the win, Ireland Under 16 manager Paul Osam was proud of his player's achievements.
"We had some targets to hit before the tournament. One of those goals was to have three clean sheets. Keeping clean sheets always gives you a chance and we kept two in three games, which was the bedrock for us winning the tournament.
"We had a game plan today. Scotland are a very good side and we had to be solid defensively. The players sticked to the plan brilliantly. The whole game plan came together really well.
"I think there is still huge improvement in this group. We built on a little bit of structure and the results are there to be seen. The future is quite good for this team."
Republic of Ireland: Jimmy Corcoran; Alex Dunne, Conor Power, Cian Kelly, James Furlong; Brandon Holt, Matt Healy (Ronan McKinley 74); Sean Kennedy (Festy Ebosele 41), Troy Parrott, Armstrong Oko-Flex; Matt Everitt. |
