Republic of Ireland 1
New Zealand 1
Netherlands 1
Nigeria 0
Canada 2
Republic of Ireland 4 - 1 Sweden
#IRLU21 HIGHLIGHTS | Ireland 4-1 Sweden
Second-half goals from Lee O'Connor, Adam Idah, Troy Parrott and Zack Elbouzedi saw Stephen Kenny's side secure an important three points to see the side top of Group One on 16 points; a record points total for an Ireland U-21s side.
Watch the full highlights on FAI TV above.
Ireland U-21: Four-goal second-half seals stunning victory
Second-half goals from Lee O'Connor, Adam Idah, Troy Parrott and Zack Elbouzedi saw Stephen Kenny's side secure an important three points to see the side top of Group One on 16 points; a record points total for an Ireland U-21s side.
In truth, Ireland struggled through the first 45 minutes and found themselves behind in the 18th minute. Viktor Gyökeres took the ball down on the left and turned inside to find the bottom corner with a sublime finish, the first goal Ireland conceded at home during this campaign.
The home side only mustered one chance of note before the break. Gavin Bazunu's clearance found Parrott on the left and after he glided past Anel Ahmedhodzic, his cross found Idah but the shot found the side netting.
Kenny made a double substitution at the break as Liam Scales and Connor Ronan were introduced. It sparked Ireland into life and four minutes into the second-half, they were level. Idah found space on the right and his cross found the onrushing Lee O'Connor to sweep the ball home.
Ireland continued their dominance as Elbouzedi's cross almost found Idah in the 60th minute, but he couldn't quite reach the ball. Four minutes later, the Norwich City man had his goal.
Once again, Elbouzedi's wing-play produced the goods as his low cross was powered home by Idah from 12 yards out. Ireland showed no signs of stopping the second-half rout and next, Parrott got in on the act.
In the 74th minute, Ronan capped an incredible game-changing performance with a fantastic lofted-ball to find Parrott and he found the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Three minutes from time, Ireland scored their final goal of the game as Elbouzedi scored the goal his industrious play deserved. Ronan drifted down the left and crossed across the six-yard box to hand Elbouzedi a simple tap-in to seal the victory.
"It was an incredible second-half performance and the team deserves a huge amount of credit," said U-21 boss Stephen Kenny.
"The way we responded after the break was fantastic to see and I'm delighted the players got their reward for fantastic team performance. It was a fantastic camp with six points across the two games."
Republic of Ireland: Gavin Bazunu (GK), Lee O'Connor, Conor Masterson (Liam Scales 46), Nathan Collins, Conor Coventry, Zack Elbouzedi, Jayson Molumby (C) (Connor Ronan 46), Adam Idah (Aidan Keena 89), Jason Knight (Jack Taylor 89), Troy Parrott (Gavin Kilkenny 86), Thomas O'Connor.
Subs not used: Conor Kearns (GK), Daniel Grant, Dan Mandroiu, Danny McNamara.
Referee: Karim Abed (FRA)
Attendance: 2760
Gavin Bazunu ready to step back on familiar territory
Ireland are set to face Sweden at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday, November 19, with kick-off at 8pm as Stephen Kenny's side continue their bid to be the first U-21 team to qualify for a finals tournament.
The 17-year old Bazunu is set to start for Ireland in the absence of Caoimhin Kelleher having made his U-21 debut in the 1-0 win over Armenia.
Bazunu came through the youth ranks at Shamrock Rovers before breaking into the first-team at the age of 16 for the club he has always supported. His form helped him earn a move to Manchester City this year and he is looking forward to playing at Tallaght Stadium once again.
"Shamrock Rovers is my club. I joined the club at the age of five, it was my club and it is the club I'll always supported," said Bazunu.
"To play for the club was a dream come true really, especially at such a young age. I played back at Tallaght Stadium in the U-17 European Championships and it was fantastic as it brought all of the memories back.
"To be playing for the U-21s in Tallaght will be fantastic and I've got a lot of family and friends coming along to support. It's a huge night for us so hopefully we can get the result."
Ireland go into the game top of Group One having already claimed a 3-1 victory in Sweden in September.
With another big crowd expected at Tallaght Stadium, Bazunu says the team are full of belief that they can get another crucial victory in their bid to qualify.
"The win in Armenia was huge for us. We had a lot of changes coming into the game but the way we played was fantastic and really important win," continued Bazunu.
"I didn't have much to do during the game in Armenia which shows you how well we defended and how much we dominated the match.
"We need to bring that form into the Sweden match. We're fully aware that it will be a tough match but we're full of confidence, we've got plenty of talent in the squad."
TEAM NEWS: Stephen Kenny has confirmed he has a fully fit squad to chose from as Jayson Molumby and Conor Masterson both trained with the squad today.
Tactical Lineups
Republic of Ireland
Substitutes
- 23 Conor Kearns (G)
- 10 Connor Ronan
- 11 Daniel Grant
- 14 Danny Mandroiu
- 16 Jack Taylor
- 17 Gavin Kilkenny
- 19 Aidan Keena
- 20 Danny Mc Namara
- 21 Liam Scales
Coach
Stephen Kenny
Sweden
Substitutes
- 12 Viktor Johansson (G)
- 4 Hugo Andersson
- 5 Thomas Isherwood
- 7 Emil Hansson
- 9 Nils Fröling
- 11 Benjamin Mbunga Kimpioka
- 16 Kristopher Da Graca
- 17 Bilal Hussein
- 20 Max Svensson
Coach
Roland Nilsson
Officials
- Referee Karim Abed
- Assistant Referees Cyril Mugnier
- UEFA Delegate Kimmo J. Lipponen
- Assistant Referee Two Aurélien Berthomieu
- Fourth Official Florent Batta
- Referee Observer Leslie Irvine
Match Statistics
- Republic of Ireland
- Sweden
Minute by Minute Commentary