Ireland Under 18's Win Lisbon Tournament

Portugal    0 v 1    Republic of Ireland                                           

Republic of Ireland captain Michael Spillane scored a late winner to defeat hosts Portugal and clinch the four-nations invitational tournament trophy in Lisbon on Sunday.

Ireland needed victory to be sure of winning the Lisbon international crown after Georgia had beaten Belgium 3-0 in the other group game played this morning.

Ireland finished the tournament with seven points. Georgia beat Belgium today and finished with six, Portugal had three from their win over Belgium and the Belgians accrued one from their draw with Ireland.

Spillane’s crucial goal arrived following a three-man move which started with centre-back Brendan Maloney winning the ball in his own half. The Nottingham Forest defender exchanged passes with Paul Cahillane on the half-way line and fed Spillane who then dribbled the ball around the advancing goalkeeper before shooting into an empty net.

Sean McCaffrey’s team beat Georgia 3-1 on Thursday in their opener and the following day staged a remarkable late recovery to salvage a 2-2 draw against Belgium. Two goals in the final four minutes of the match by David Hutton and Michael Spillane cancelled out goals by Belgium on either side of half-time.

Ireland produced another late rally to claim the result they needed. Manager Sean McCaffrey chose to push Spillane up into attack from midfield for the final ten minutes and the tactical move paid dividends shortly afterwards.

McCaffrey is preparing for the UEFA U19 Championship qualifiers which will kick-off next September and paid tribute to his squad’s resilience in challenging circumstances.

Ireland dominated the first-half and Daniel Corcoran was unlucky not to fire Ireland ahead when he broke free on goal only to see his shot blocked by the hosts’ goalkeeper.

Portugal improved in the second half and Ireland were forced to endure some nervous moments as Carvalhas and Taz worked their magic around the penalty area.

In the end, Spillane played the skipper’s part by coming up with his second goal in as many matches.

Manager Sean McCaffrey was delighted to use all the members of his squad over the three games as he assessed the potential of players who will constitute the Republic of Ireland’s squad in next season’s UEFA U19 qualifying ties. The triumphant Ireland squad return home on Monday afternoon.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:
Shane Redmond Notts Forest
Cian Hughton Tottenham Hotspur
Brendan Maloney Notts Forest
Michael Spillane Norwich City
Mark O`Toole Norwich City
David Hutton Tottenham Hotspur
Ryan Carolan Crystal Palace
Graham Carey Glasgow Celtic
Paul Cahillane Glasgow Celtic
Daniel Corcoran Belvedere
Karl Byrne Plymouth Argyle
SUBS:
Corie Treacy Notts Forest for Hutton (78 mins)
Michael Liddle Sunderland for Byrne (46 mins)
Ian Bermingham Lourdes Celtic for O’Toole (63 mins)
Ruairi Harkin Charlton Athletic for Corcoran (46 mins)
Craig Mahon Wigan Athletic for Carey (85 mins).

Match reports are on www.fai.ie

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 Corcoran Called Into Ireland Under 18 Squad

Belvedere's Daniel Corcoran has been called into the Republic of Ireland Under 18 squad for this week’s four-nation international tournament in Portugal where Ireland will face Georgia, Belgium and Portugal. He joins former Belvedere players Brendan Maloney (Notts Forest) Paul Cahillane (Glasgow Celtic)  Karl Byrne (Plymouth Argyle) in manager Sean McCaffrey’s squad who fly to Lisbon early on Tuesday morning for the three matches that forms part of preparations for next season’s Under-19 UEFA Championship qualifying series which gets underway in September.

Ireland play their first game on Thursday 1st March against Georgia in Mafra (kick-off 15.00hrs, local time), before facing Belgium the next day, Friday 2nd March in Malveria (kick-off 15.00hrs, local time). Their third match sees them take on hosts Portugal on Sunday, 4th March in Mafra (kick-off 11.00hrs, local time).

“We’ve lost a few players in the run-up to these games but I’m confident that the lads called up to deputise can rise to the challenge of playing against quality European opposition,” said McCaffrey.

“These three games in Portugal are all about identifying our options for next season’s UEFA Under-19 qualifying campaign and our displays in Lisbon should be a strong indicator of how we are shaping up at this particular stage of that process.”

Fixtures: 

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Republic of Ireland Under 18's 0 - 0  Netherlands

  Emeka Onwubiko

The Republic of Ireland Under 18's drew 0 - 0 with the Netherlands in a  friendly international match played at Richmond Park on Wednesday 7th February 2007. Included in the squad was Belvedere's Emeka Onwubiko as were former Belvedere players Karl Byrne ( Plymouth Argyle ) and Vincent Whelan ( Wrexham ).

Ireland's Under-18's were held to a scoreless draw by the Netherlands in an entertaining friendly this evening at Richmond Park.

Manager Sean McCaffrey used the fixture to blood some new talent and the newcomers didn't disappoint against a strong Dutch side.

Both sides are chances to claim victory a draw proved to be a fair result. James Berrett, the Huddersfield Town midfielder making his debut for Ireland, should have given the hosts the lead a minute before the break but his shot from close-range was scrambled off the goal-line by Dutch defender Ter Horst.

Ajax midfielder Siem De Jong was at the hub of the action for the Dutch with his electric pace and intricate passing.

He had the best opportunity of the evening for the visitors nine minutes into the second half when his 30-yard volley rebounded back of the post.

Ireland also carved open their visitors after the break. Spurs winger David Hutton snatched at a chance on the hour mark that flew over the crossbar and Karl Byrne from Plymouth Argyle saw his 25-yard shot tipped over by 'keeper Ebeltjes.

The fixture was the first of the season for Ireland at this level as they look to build for the 2008 UEFA Under-19 qualifiers which get underway this September.

IRELAND: Jimmy McKeon (Walsall), Cian Hughton (Tottenham Hotspur), Mark O'Toole (Norwich City), Michael Spillane (Norwich City), Shane Lowry (Aston Villa), James Berrett (Huddersfield Town), David Hutton (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Carolan (Crystal Palace), Emeka Onwubiko (Belvedere), Michael Noone (Millwall), Donal McDermott (Manchester City). SUBS: Karl Byrne (Plymouth Argyle) for Onwubiko - 37 mins. Noel Haverty (St. Patrick's Athletic), Ian Bermingham (Lourdes Celtic) & Derek Foran (St. Patrick's Athletic) for O'Toole, Hughton and Noone – all 46 mins. Craig Mahon (Wigan Athletic) for Hutton - 66 mins. JamieDuff (St. Joseph's Boys) for McDermott and Vincent Whelan (Wrexham)
for McKeon – both 77 mins.

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