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Ireland U17s suffer penalty heartache in UEFA qualifiers
Poland.......................... 0
Ireland...........................0
(Poland win 4-3 on pens)
THE Republic of Ireland U17s suffered a heart-breaking elimination from the UEFA U17 Championships after losing out in a penalty shoot-out to Poland after a scoreless draw in their final Elite Phase group fixture today.
Tom Mohan's side held the hosts to a draw in Pruszkow to leave both sides with an identical record in Group 7 and tied on second place behind group winners Serbia.
Under the rules of the competition that meant the sides went to a penalty shoot-out. Thomas O'Connor scored first for Ireland then Mikołaj Kwietniewski levelled for Poland before Tyreke Wilson missed unfortunately for the Irish.R
Tymoteusz Puchacz put the Poles 2-1 up and this was levelled by Daniel McKenna before Adam Chrzanowski restored the host nation's lead. Canice Carroll brought it back to 3-3 on spot-kicks before Przemysław Macierzyński made it 4-3.
Tragically for the Irish side, Glen McAuley's penalty struck the woodwork and the Poles sealed the win 4-3 on penalties to progress to the finals in Azerbaijan next month.
Jayson Molumby had Ireland's first attempt on goal in the second minute and forced a save from Kamil Grabara and Irish keeper Mark Travers was forced into his first stop in the 13th minute to deny Marco Drawz.
In the 20th minute Daniel McKenna and Anthony Scully each had shots blocked as Ireland sought the decisive opening goal.
Drawz had another effort denied by Travers in the 35th minute as the stalemate continued.
In the 52nd minute another McKenna effort saw keeper Grabara forced into a save once more and the Polish keeper also denied Anthony Scully in the 65th minute.
Drawz and Kwietniewski had efforts blocked in injury-time which may have won it for Poland but ultimately the tie went to the drama of a shoot-out and disappointment for the Irish.
POLAND: Kamil Grabara, Paweł Olszewski, Tymoteusz Puchacz, Adam Chrzanowski, Bartłomiej Gajda (Riccardo Grym 52), Tomasz Makowski, Marco Drawz, Bartosz Wiktoruk (Kacper Chodyna 41), Jakub Moder (Przemysław Macierzyński 58), Mikołaj Kwietniewski, Sebastian Szymański.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Mark Travers, Canice Carroll, Tyreke Wilson, Declan Rice, Dara O'Shea, Lee O'Connor, Jayson Molumby, Anthony Scully (Glen McAuley 71), Daniel McKenna, Thomas O'Connor, Michael Murphy (Stephen Mallon 64).
RESULTS
Monday, March 28
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
Republic of Ireland 0-2 Serbia, MZOS Znicz, Pruszkow (POL)
Poland 2-0 Montenegro, W.O.S.I.R Polonia, Warsaw (POL)
Wednesday, March 30
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
Republic of Ireland 3-0 Montenegro, Stadion ROSRRiT Siedlce, Siedlce (POL)
Serbia 2-1 Poland, W.O.S.I.R Polonia, Warsaw (POL)
Saturday, April 2
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
Poland 0-0 Republic of Ireland, MZOS Znicz, Pruszkow (POL) *Poland won 4-3 on pens
Montenegro 0-2 Serbia, Stadion ROSRRiT Siedlce, Siedlce (POL)
THE Republic of Ireland U17s will meet hosts Poland in a decisive encounter in Pruszkow today (5.00pm) which will decide their UEFA U17 Championships qualifying ambitions.
With both sides holding identical records from their first two fixtures, a draw would send the tie into a penalty shoot-out to decide runners-up spot in the group. Irelands Under 17’s know that victory over the Poles today will be enough to send them through to the finals in Azerbaijan next month.
“Obviously as the hosts Poland have had big crowds at their games and as it’s a winner-take-all game there will lots of excitement about this game but it’s down to what happens on the pitch.
"Our preparation has been good. All of our players are fit but unfortunately Thomas Byrne will be missed through suspension. He did very well for us but it opens the door for somebody else and that’s what football is all about."
RESULTS & FIXTURES
Monday, March 28
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
Republic of Ireland 0-2 Serbia, MZOS Znicz, Pruszkow (POL)
Poland 2-0 Montenegro, W.O.S.I.R Polonia, Warsaw (POL)
Wednesday, March 30
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
Republic of Ireland 3-0 Montenegro, Stadion ROSRRiT Siedlce, Siedlce (POL)
Serbia 2-1 Poland, W.O.S.I.R Polonia, Warsaw (POL)
Saturday, April 2
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
The Irish U16s with two SKB players included will play the Turkey at Home Farm FC's Whitehall ground on Wednesday, April 6 (7,00pm), and Friday, April 8 (12.00 noon). Turkey will provide the Irish with a serious test as their side has a 100 per cent winning record in internationals this season including against victories over Italy, France and the USA.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U16 SQUAD:
Nathan Tormey (Arsenal)
Cian Lee (Belvedere)
Kevin Healy (Belvedere)
Richie O'Farrell (Belvedere)
Rowan Roache (Blackpool)
Ruairi Patton (Belvedere)
Cameron Moore (Bolton Wanderers)
Aaron Connolly (Mervue United)
Ronan Manning (Mervue United)
Jordan Doherty (Sheffield United)
Cian Hughes (St Francis)
Jack Connolly (St Francis)
Aaron Bolger (St Joseph's Boys)
Ryan Burke (St Joseph's Boys)
Joe Redmond (St Joseph's Boys)
Brian Maher (St Kevin's Boys)
Dominic Peppard (St Kevin's Boys)
Luke Nolan (St Patricks Athletic)
Tom Murphy (UCD)
Conor Coventry (West Ham)
