Post by thales on Mar 19, 2008 11:12:28 GMT -1
rte Wednesday, 19 March 2008 09:09
The Republic of Ireland Under-17s booked their place in May's European Championship finals with a 2-0 victory over Portugal in Terryland Park.
Ireland's impressive victory in Galway, coupled with Germany's 2-0 victory against Greece, means that Sean McCaffrey's side claimed top spot in the Elite Group.
After a tight opening half, in which Greg Cunningham went closest to scoring when his header bounced back off the Portuguese crossbar, Ireland opened the scoring on 51 minutes.
A Conor Hourihane free-kick was drifted into the Portuguese penalty area and when the ball was parried by goalkeeper Guerra, John O'Sullivan was on hand to blast the ball home.
Ireland doubled their lead five minutes later from another free-kick when Gavin Cunning out-jumped his marker to nod home from Aaron Doran's lofted cross.
Afterwards manager McCaffrey paid tribute to his side and said: 'This is a brilliant night for everybody involved in Irish football. We are one of only eight nations participating in the UEFA finals and qualification is a brilliant feat for these young boys.'
The Republic of Ireland Under-17s booked their place in May's European Championship finals with a 2-0 victory over Portugal in Terryland Park.
Ireland's impressive victory in Galway, coupled with Germany's 2-0 victory against Greece, means that Sean McCaffrey's side claimed top spot in the Elite Group.
After a tight opening half, in which Greg Cunningham went closest to scoring when his header bounced back off the Portuguese crossbar, Ireland opened the scoring on 51 minutes.
A Conor Hourihane free-kick was drifted into the Portuguese penalty area and when the ball was parried by goalkeeper Guerra, John O'Sullivan was on hand to blast the ball home.
Ireland doubled their lead five minutes later from another free-kick when Gavin Cunning out-jumped his marker to nod home from Aaron Doran's lofted cross.
Afterwards manager McCaffrey paid tribute to his side and said: 'This is a brilliant night for everybody involved in Irish football. We are one of only eight nations participating in the UEFA finals and qualification is a brilliant feat for these young boys.'
congrats lads ;D
