Local players help Ireland Under 17s make a bright start in Tallaght
THE Republic of Ireland Under 17s got their season off to a very encouraging start with two emphatic victories over Turkey in Tallaght Stadium this week.
Colin O’Brien’s team, which will host the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championships in May, followed up a 3-0 win over the Turks on Tuesday with a 4-1 triumph in their second encounter two days later.
Former St Francis player Conor Carty was on the scoresheet in both games, rattling the net in the first when he raced on to a ball over the top before rounding goalkeeper Arda Ozcimen and steering home with five minutes go.
It served to copper-fasten that win after Matt Everitt had put Ireland in front on 32 minutes while substitute Joshua Giurgi added a third two minutes after Carty’s strike.
Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu started in goal for the homeside in the opener and the Firhouse lad pulled off a couple of top-drawer stops from the Muhammed Emin Sarikaya and and Emincen Tekin.
St Patrick’s Athletic’s Brandon Holt also started this match while his clubmate Darragh Burns was introduced on 78 minutes.
Also in action for O’Brien’s outfit in this opener were Bazunu’s clubmates Alex Dunne, James Furlong and Cian Kelly- a fifth-year student in Old Bawn Community School who got his country off the mark in their second game on Thursday.
Indeed, he headed home a corner from Matt Everitt with the match just seven minutes old before strikes from Everitt and St Pat’s winger Burns propelled them three in front within the opening half hour.
The visitors were thrown a lifeline when Ali Akman crashed home a superb strike just before the halftime recess.
Yet, any hope of a comeback was ended by way of a sublime effort by Carty who vollied home a cross by Furlong from the edge of the box.
Another ex-St Francis player Zak Delaney from Knocklyon turned in a very solid performance as did St Patrick’s Athletic’s Kyle Conway and former Cherry Orchard goalkeeper Jimmy Corcoran.
“It was a very productive week with a new bunch of players,” said O’Brien.
“It is a step up for them from last year. They took on board some of the ideas we worked on during the week which is a good sign.
“One of our key objectives over the games was to give players minutes to see if they could handle the international level. It has been a very satisfying week,” he added.
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