Second-half goals from Matt Everitt and Brandon Holt were not enough, as the Republic of Ireland Under-16s were defeated 3-2 by Hungary in Budapest.
27th Feb 2018
The team were trailing 1-0 at the break courtesy of an Akos Zuigeber penalty, and conceded early in the second half with Gyorgy Komaromi scoring, before Osam's side launched a spirited fightback.
Goals from Everitt and Holt in the last 15-minutes looked set to earn Ireland a deserved draw, but Hungarian substitute Andras Nemeth scored in added-time to record a 3-2 win.
Speaking after the loss, Under-16 Head Coach Paul Osam said the team will learn from the experience.
"It was disappointing to concede the winner in injury-time having been two goals down. We didn't play very well in the first half, but probably had more chances than Hungary.
"In the second half we played far better despite conceding again. We did very well to get back into the game. The equaliser with five minutes to go was well deserved.
"It's a tough lesson for the players losing so late. A lot of times you learn more in defeat than in victory, I think this will be one of those days."
The teams meet once more in Budapest on Thursday morning. Kick-off is at 11am (10am Irish time).
Republic of Ireland: Gavin Bazunu; Alex Dunne, Luke Turner, Cian Kelly, James Furlong; Brandon Holt, Seamas Keogh; Patrick Moore (Adam Lennon 61), Troy Parrott, Sean Kennedy (Conor Carty 55); Matt Everitt. |
