Republic of Ireland 1
New Zealand 1
Netherlands 1
Nigeria 0
Canada 2
Armenia 0 - 1 Republic of Ireland
#IRLU21 HIGHLIGHTS | Armenia 0-1 Ireland
Ireland finished the game with ten-men after Dara O'Shea was sent off in the second-half but the away side held on in the closing stages to stay top of Group One.
Watch highlights of the match in Yerevan on FAI TV. Footage courtesy of eirSport.
REPORT: Elbouzedi's strike secure Armenia victory
Ireland finished the game with ten-men after Dara O'Shea was sent off in the second-half but the away side held on in the closing stages to stay top of Group One.
Stephen Kenny gave four players their U-21 debut for the match. Thomas O'Connor, Nathan Collins, Danny McNamara and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu all made their debut as Ireland dominated the vast majority of the contest.
The first major chance of the game came in the 18th minute as Gavin Kilkenny found Connor Ronan in space on the left who crossed for Adam Idah, but his glancing header went narrowly over the bar.
Eight minutes later, Ireland were inches away from opening the scoring as O'Connor's right-sided free-kick was whipped into the six-yard area but O'Shea was unable to reach the ball as it went past the far-post.
The best chance of the first-half came just after the half-hour as the quick-thinking Elbouzedi intercepted the keeper's lofted clearance and after he headed it down for Ronan, Jason Knight was in on goal but fired narrowly wide.
The chances were beginning to flow for Stephen Kenny's side and should have been ahead at the break. In the 37th minute, a fantastic tackle from Collins lead to a counter-attack with Elbouzedi and after the winger cut inside, his low effort was somehow palmed away.
From the resulting corner, Armenia failed to clear at the first attempt and the ball fell for Collins in the six-yard area but his shot was also saved.
The pressure continued in the second-half. Six minutes after the break, once again, Elbouzedi was involved as he engineered an angle on the left but his deflected cross somehow crawled past the mouth of the goal and away to safety.
Ireland finally got the break-through in the 63rd minute. The impressive Knight won the ball back high up the pitch, played the industrious Idah down the line and his cross was dummied by Ronan to find Elbouzedi. Elbouzedi collected the ball and smashed home to finally give Ireland the lead they deserved.
Ireland continued to look dangerous until the 76th minute when Dara O'Shea was shown a straight red card for his last-ditch tackle on Vahan Bichakhchyan. Despite the red card, Ireland remained composed and held out to claim an important three points as they remain top in Group One.
"I'm delighted with the manner of performance. We handed four debuts in the starting line-up and Aidan Keena came off the bench to make his debut as well," said Kenny.
"To produce the real team performance we've produced with the short amount of time we've had to work with the team, I'm delighted and the players should be really proud of themselves.
"It's an important victory in the campaign and now it's important for us to refocus on the Sweden game on Tuesday to make sure we can get another important result in front of a big crowd at Tallaght Stadium."
Armenia: Sevak Aslanyan (GK), Hrachya Geghamy, Hovhannes Nazaryan, Albert Khachumyan, Edgar Grigoryan, Karen Melkonyan, Hovhannes Harutyunyan (Aram Khamoyan 67), Armen Haovhannisyan, Armen Nahapetyan (Abraham Portugalyan 57), Vahan Bichakhchyan, Rudik Mkrtchyan (C).
Subs not used: Mark Grigoryan (GK), Erik Vardanyan, Davit Nalbandyan, Arsen Sadoyan, Hakob Khachatryan, Edgar Movsesyan, Armen Asilyan.
Republic of Ireland: Gavin Bazunu (GK), Danny McNamara, Dara O'Shea (C) (Liam Scales 76), Conor Coventry, Zack Elbouzedi, Adam Idah (Aidan Keena 86), Connor Ronan, Jason Knight, Nathan Collins, Gavin Kilkenny (Jack Taylor 81), Thomas O'Connor.
Subs not used: Conor Kearns (GK), Kameron Ledwidge, Corey O'Keefe, Danny Grant, Dan Mandroiu, Simon Power.
Referee: Antti Munukka (FIN)
Booking(s): Jason Knight.
Red Card(s): Dara O'Shea
Ireland U-21: Committed Conor Coventry ready to step up
Ireland face Armenia in UEFA U-21 European Championship qualifying tomorrow, with kick-off at 12pm (4pm local time), and the game is live on eirSport.
Stephen Kenny's side will be much changed with captain Jayson Molumby and defender Lee O'Connor suspended, whilst a number of players miss out through injury.
One of the mainstay's of the U-21 side this year has been Coventry and he says he is ready to step up to a leadership role within the team.
"We've had a fantastic year so far and achieved some fantastic results," said Coventry.
"It's going to be a bit different against Armenia as we're missing a lot of players but we've got a number of players coming into the team who will want to impress and take the opportunity which is great.
"We've got a really talented squad and training has been fantastic which shows the amount of players we've got who can play at this level.
"I've played almost every game this year so I suppose I'll be ready to step up to a leadership role if needed and I just can't wait to turn out for Ireland again."
Coventry, who qualifies for Ireland through his mother Liz who is from Cabra, has had an extensive under-age international career for Ireland, playing at every level.
The 19-year has admitted that he looks forward to representing Ireland every chance he gets and has relished the memories 2019 has given him with the U-21s.
"If you speak to the lads at West Ham, you'll be told how I'm always going on about Ireland and when we next play," continued Coventry.
"I've always looked forward to it and luckily, I've always done well with my fitness so I've pretty much always been available to play.
"I always make sure I'm available and especially this year, with it being such a big year of football for the team. We've had some amazing results, that win in Sweden will live long in the memory, and it gives us something to build on next year."
TEAM NEWS: Stephen Kenny has confirmed Dara O'Shea will captain the side in the absence of the suspended Jayson Molumby. Nathan Collins, Danny McNamara, Thomas O'Connor and Gavin Bazunu are all set for their U-21 debut.
Ireland U-21: Kenny confirms U-21 debuts v Armenia
Ireland U-21s arrived in Yerevan, Armenia last night and trained at the FFA National Academy earlier this evening in preparation for their qualifier on Thursday, November 14, with kick-off at 12pm (4pm local time).
Kenny was hit with a number of withdrawals ahead of the qualifier with Conor Masterson, Caoimhin Kelleher, Michael Obafemi, Neil Farrugia and Trevor Clarke all out, whilst captain Jayson Molumby and Lee O'Connor are suspended.
A number of players have been called into the squad for the first time and despite the number of withdrawals, Kenny has praised the quality in the squad as they look for crucial points against Armenia on Thursday.
"We've got a lot of changes in the squad. I'm very happy with the team though and the squad we've got out here," said Kenny.
"I'm very happy with the personnel in the squad and it shows that we've got a depth of talent at this level. That's credit to all of the under-age coaches who've done fantastic work over the years.
"Gavin Bazunu, just 17-years of age, will make his debut for the U-21s which is terrific for him. We've got a lot of changes in the back-four. Thomas O'Connor will come in and make his debut after his fantastic season so far at Gillingham.
"Danny McNamara, who has been in the squad since September, gets an opportunity and Nathan Collins, of course, who has been terrific at Stoke City so far this season."
Ireland go into the qualifier on Thursday at the top of group one as they look to bounce back from their only defeat of the campaign so far against Iceland in October.
Ireland secured victory against Armenia at Tallaght Stadium in September and the Ireland U-21 boss wants a repeat performance in Yerevan.
"It is a fantastic opportunity for the players coming in. They're a fantastic group of players who all want to represent their country," Kenny continued.
"We played extremely well against Armenia in Tallaght but Armenia will be a different proposition out here and they had a fantastic victory over Luxembourg in the last round of games.
"We're going into the game with the aim to win, these are our 11th and 12th matches of the year and we want to end this year on a high."
Tactical Lineups
Armenia
Substitutes
- 12 Mark Grigoryan (G)
- 6 Erik Vardanyan
- 13 Davit Nalbandyan
- 15 Arsen Sadoyan
- 17 Aram Khamoyan
- 19 Hakob Khachatryan
- 21 Edgar Movsesyan
- 22 Abraham Portugalyan
- 23 Armen Asilyan
Coach
Antonio Lozano Flores
Republic of Ireland
Substitutes
- 23 Conor Kearns (G)
- 3 Kameron Ledwidge
- 4 Corey O'Keeffe
- 11 Daniel Grant
- 14 Danny Mandroiu
- 16 Jack Taylor
- 19 Aidan Keena
- 21 Liam Scales
- 22 Simon Power
Coach
Stephen Kenny
Officials
- Referee Antti Munukka
- Assistant Referees Jukka Honkanen
- UEFA Delegate Ilona Tkach
- Assistant Referee Two Turkka Valjakka
- Fourth Official Dennis Antamo
- Referee Observer Cyril Zimmermann
Match Statistics
- Armenia
- Republic of Ireland
Minute by Minute Commentary