Under 19s start with defeat
The Republic of Ireland Under 19s suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Poland in the opening game of the UEFA Under 19 Championship qualifiers on Monday afternoon in Serbia.
The defeat means Ireland face an uphill battle to claim the one qualification spot for this summer’s finals in Northern Ireland, as they will need to beat Albania on Wednesday and hosts Serbia and Montenegro on Friday to have any chance of topping the group.
Ireland competed well but rarely threatened the Polish goal before Pawel Pytlarz scored the only goal of the game in the 44th minute with a clinical volley after a corner had not been properly cleared.
In yesterday’s other game, Serbia and Montenegro beat Albania 7-1.
Rep of Ireland U19: Randolph (Charlton Athletic); McFaul (Notts County), O’Dea (Celtic), R Keogh (Stoke City), Painter (Birmingham City); Cregg (Arsenal), Collins (Huddersfield Town), Gibson (Manchester United); A Keogh (Scunthorpe), O’Carroll (Celtic), Foley (Aston Villa). Subs: Long (Cork City) for A Keogh (67 mins), Hayes (Reading) for O’Carroll (75 mins). |