Republic of Ireland 2 - 0 Luxembourg | 2021 - UEFA Under-21 Championship | 2031828

UEFA European Under-21 Championship | Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght Stadium
08 October 2021 - 17:15

Republic of Ireland 2 - 0 Luxembourg

Ogunfaolu-Kayode(18) Coventry(64) full-time
Republic of Ireland Luxembourg

REPORT | Ireland U21 2-0 Luxembourg U21

Republic of Ireland continued their promising start to their UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign as they defeated Luxembourg 2-0 at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night.
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8th Oct 2021

Joshua Kayode’s finish early in the first half followed by man of the match Conor Coventry’s penalty in the second half was enough to see Ireland make it seven points out of a possible nine secured in Group F.

Following their 2-0 win away to Bosnia and Herzegovina in September and their 1-1 with the Luxembourgers in Dudelange last month, Ireland were finally playing their first home game of the campaign.

It was also the first time in almost two years that the Irish Under 21s could enjoy the support of their local crowd but they had little to shout about in the opening minutes as their opponents defended deeply.

But that would change in the 18th minute as the Boys in Green took the lead thanks to Kayode.

A great switch of play by Conor Coventry picked out Tyreik Wright in space on the left flank. The Cork native immediately charged at his opponents and his cross from the end-line picked out his number nine, who poked the ball past the keeper at the near post.

It was the visitors who created the best chance to grab the crucial second goal of the game before the half-time break and Ireland were fortunate to see Irvin Latic’s free header from an inswinging free-kick drift just past the bottom left corner.

Jim Crawford’s side started the second period with a higher tempo and they threatened shortly after the restart but after a brilliant run and cross by left-back Joel Bagan, Liam Kerrigan just couldn’t apply the finishing touch on the stretch at the back stick.

But Ireland would finally settle any nerves just past the hour mark as Coventry coolly fired his penalty straight down the middle after Kerrigan was fouled by Franz Sinner inside the box.

From there, the Irish expertly saw out the game - Noss did see his one on one saved by Lucas Fox in the closing stages after Brian Maher denied Kuete in a similar manner at the other end - as their attention turns to their meeting with Montenegro at the Gradski Stadion in Podgorica on Tuesday, October 12th with kick-off set for 4:30 pm Irish time.

Republic of Ireland: Maher; O’Connor, O’Brien, McGuinness, Bagan; Coventry, Kilkenny (Devoy 86), Tierney (Noss 70); Kayode (Ferguson 70), Kerrigan (Gilbert 86), Wright (Moran 92).

Luxembourg: Fox; Bernardy (Torres 65), D’Anzico, Osmanovic, Sinner (Monteiro De Oliveira 76), Schmit; Olesen, Latic, Sacras (Bernard 76); Rossier (Turping 65), Kuete (Erkus 90). 

Referee: Besfort Kasumi (Kosovo).

PREVIEW | Ireland U21 v Luxembourg U21

Republic of Ireland Under-21s will play their first home game of the season and their first with fans in almost two years when they take on Luxembourg today.
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8th Oct 2021

Ireland drew 1-1 with the visitors only last month in Dudelange. Colm Whelan's first goal for Ireland was cancelled out by a late Dylan Kuete penalty.

The Boys in Green will be looking to go one better at Tallaght Stadium with the Irish public getting a first look at a Jim Crawford U21 team.

Liam Kerrigan of UCD and Drogheda United's David Odumosu received their first call-ups to an Irish international team.

Ticket News
Adults tickets are priced at €10, Under-16s €5 with a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) available for €20. They can be purchsed here

Match Details
Fixture: Republic of Ireland U21 v Luxembourg U21
KO Time: 5.15pm 
Stadium: Tallaght Stadium, Dublin

Match Officials

Referee: Besfort Kasumi (KOS)
Assistant referee:Edmond Zeqiri (KOS)
Assistant referee: Lumturije Muhadri (KOS)
Fourth official: Visar Kastrati (KOS)

Team News 
Shelbourne's Kameron Ledwidge and Derry City's Ronan Boyce joined-up with the squad earlier this week. All players trained yesterday ahead of today's fixture.
 
Manager Jim Crawford said: "We're fully focused on Luxembourg and have been working on aspects of our game during the week and we believe we can score goals to win it. It's a short campaign of 10 games, so it's a sprint from the begining, so you're looking to get three points in every game. 

"It's great to be able to play in front of fans in Tallaght Stadium and the players are really looking forward to it. There was a real buzz last year playing in Tallaght last year and one thing I can say is that the fans can be impressed with the players we have here because they are a really good bunch."

Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad for Luxembourg U21
 
Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Bury Town, on loan from Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), David Odumosu (Drogheda United)

Defenders: Ronan Boyce (Derry City), Joel Bagan (Cardiff City), Kameron Ledwidge (Shelbourne), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Oisin McEntee (Greenock Morton, on loan from Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness (Cardiff City), Jake O’Brien (Crystal Palace), Lee O’Connor (Tranmere Rovers, on loan from Celtic)
 
Midfielders: Conor Coventry (Peterborough United, on loan from West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Alex Gilbert (Swindon Town, on loan from Brentford), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Conor Noss (Borussia Möchengladbach), Ross Tierney (Bohemians), Louie Watson (Derby County)
 
Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Will Ferry (Crawley Town, on loan from Southampton), Joshua ‘JJ’ Kayode (Rotherham United), Liam Kerrigan (UCD), Andrew Moran (Brighton and Hove Albion), Ollie O’Neill (Fulham), Tyreik Wright (Salford City, on loan from Aston Villa), Colm Whelan (UCD)
 

 Fixtures - UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers (all times are Irish times)
Tuesday, October 12 | Montenegro U21 v Republic of Ireland U21 

Tactical Lineups

Republic of Ireland

1 Maher (G) 2 O'Connor 3 Bagan 4 McGuinness 6 Coventry (C) 7 Kilkenny 9 Ogunfaolu-Kayode 13 O'Brien 14 Kerrigan 17 Tierney 18 Wright

Coach

James Crawford

Luxembourg

1 Fox (G) 2 Bernardy 3 Sacras 4 D'Anzico 5 Olesen (C) 6 Latic 7 Rossler 11 Schmit 13 Kuete 14 Sinner 19 Osmanovic

Substitutes

  • 12 Thimoty Martin (G)
  • 9 Gary Bernard
  • 10 Selim Turping
  • 15 Cédric Baiverlin
  • 16 Diogo De Oliveira
  • 17 Yohann Torres
  • 18 Emre Erkus
  • 20 Tiago Semedo

Coach

Manuel Cardoni

Officials

  • Referee Besfort Kasumi
  • Assistant Referees Edmond Zeqiri
  • UEFA Delegate Kim Hallberg
  • Assistant Referee Two Lumturije Muhadri
  • Fourth Official Visar Kastrati
  • Referee Observer Michael Thomas Ross

Minute by Minute Commentary

  • 1" The match is under way.
  • 4" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) takes the corner.
  • 5" Joel Bagan (Republic of Ireland) misses the target.
  • 6" Irvin Latic (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Ross Tierney (Republic of Ireland).
  • 7" Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Gavin Kilkenny (Republic of Ireland).
  • 11" Mark McGuinness (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Noah Rossler (Luxembourg).
  • 13" Mark McGuinness (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Noah Rossler (Luxembourg).
  • 13" Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Mark McGuinness (Republic of Ireland).
  • 14" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) is flagged for offside.
  • 15" Jake O'Brien (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Noah Rossler (Luxembourg).
  • 18" Joshua Ogunfaolu-Kayode (Republic of Ireland) scores!
  • 18" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) assists.
  • 21" Ross Tierney (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Léon Schmit (Luxembourg).
  • 27" Gavin Kilkenny (Republic of Ireland) takes the corner.
  • 29" Gavin Kilkenny (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Mathias Olesen (Luxembourg).
  • 29" Loris Bernardy (Luxembourg) takes the free-kick.
  • 30" Irvin Latic (Luxembourg) misses the target.
  • 31" Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland).
  • 32" Conor Coventry (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Fränz Sinner (Luxembourg).
  • 35" Loris Bernardy (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Ross Tierney (Republic of Ireland).
  • 36" Gavin Kilkenny (Republic of Ireland) takes the free-kick.
  • 37" Conor Coventry (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Alexandre Sacras (Luxembourg).
  • 37" Irvin Latic (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Lee O'Connor (Republic of Ireland).
  • 38" Noah Rossler (Luxembourg) is cautioned by the referee.
  • 39" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) is flagged for offside.
  • 43" Mark McGuinness (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg).
  • 43" Loris Bernardy (Luxembourg) takes the free-kick.
  • 45" Joel Bagan (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg).
  • The referee blows for half-time.
  • 46" The second half begins.
  • 46" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) is flagged for offside.
  • 49" Liam Kerrigan (Republic of Ireland) misses the target.
  • 55" Lucas Fox (Luxembourg) is cautioned by the referee.
  • 59" Mark McGuinness (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg).
  • 59" Mark McGuinness (Republic of Ireland) is cautioned by the referee.
  • 61" Joel Bagan (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on @@player2 (@@team2).
  • 62" Fränz Sinner (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Liam Kerrigan (Republic of Ireland).
  • 64" Conor Coventry (Republic of Ireland) scores!
  • 65" Yohann Torres (in) - Loris Bernardy (out) (@@teamID)
  • 65" Selim Turping (in) - Noah Rossler (out) (@@teamID)
  • 66" Liam Kerrigan (Republic of Ireland) misses the target.
  • 66" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) takes the corner.
  • 67" Irvin Latic (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Conor Coventry (Republic of Ireland).
  • 67" Irvin Latic (Luxembourg) is cautioned by the referee.
  • 69" Evan Ferguson (in) - Joshua Ogunfaolu-Kayode (out) (@@teamID)
  • 70" Conor Noß (in) - Ross Tierney (out) (@@teamID)
  • 70" Mathias Olesen (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Ross Tierney (Republic of Ireland).
  • 70" Conor Noß (Republic of Ireland) has an effort on goal.
  • 70" Lucas Fox (Luxembourg) blocks a shot.
  • 71" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) takes the corner.
  • 71" Mathias Olesen (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Conor Coventry (Republic of Ireland).
  • 73" Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Evan Ferguson (Republic of Ireland).
  • 73" Liam Kerrigan (Republic of Ireland) misses the target.
  • 74" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) takes the corner.
  • 75" Gary Bernard (in) - Fränz Sinner (out) (@@teamID)
  • 76" Diogo De Oliveira (in) - Alexandre Sacras (out) (@@teamID)
  • 77" Conor Coventry (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on @@player2 (@@team2).
  • 77" Léon Schmit (Luxembourg) takes the free-kick.
  • 78" Selim Turping (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Liam Kerrigan (Republic of Ireland).
  • 78" Conor Noß (Republic of Ireland) misses the target.
  • 81" Edin Osmanovic (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Conor Noß (Republic of Ireland).
  • 82" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) takes the free-kick.
  • 83" Lee O'Connor (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Diogo De Oliveira (Luxembourg).
  • 84" Conor Coventry (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg).
  • 86" Yohann Torres (Luxembourg) is cautioned by the referee.
  • 86" Kevin D'Anzico (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland).
  • 86" Alexander Gilbert (in) - Liam Kerrigan (out) (@@teamID)
  • 87" Dawson Devoy (in) - Gavin Kilkenny (out) (@@teamID)
  • 87" Conor Noß (Republic of Ireland) takes the free-kick.
  • 87" Conor Noß (Republic of Ireland) misses the target.
  • 88" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) takes the corner.
  • 88" Selim Turping (Luxembourg) has an effort on goal.
  • 88" Brian Maher (Republic of Ireland) blocks a shot.
  • 88" Joel Bagan (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg).
  • 90" Dylan Kuete (Luxembourg) is cautioned by the referee.
  • 90" Tyreik Wright (Republic of Ireland) is cautioned by the referee.
  • 90" Kevin D'Anzico (Luxembourg) is cautioned by the referee.
  • 90" Emre Erkus (in) - Dylan Kuete (out) (@@teamID)
  • 90+1" Diogo De Oliveira (Luxembourg) is penalised for a foul on Alexander Gilbert (Republic of Ireland).
  • 90+2" Lee O'Connor (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Léon Schmit (Luxembourg).
  • 90+3" Andrew Moran (in) - Tyreik Wright (out) (@@teamID)
  • 90+4" Conor Noß (Republic of Ireland) has an effort on goal.
  • 90+4" Lucas Fox (Luxembourg) blocks a shot.
  • 90+4" Andrew Moran (Republic of Ireland) takes the corner.
  • 90+4" Dawson Devoy (Republic of Ireland) misses the target.
  • 90+5" Alexander Gilbert (Republic of Ireland) takes the corner.
  • 90+6" Conor Noß (Republic of Ireland) is penalised for a foul on Edin Osmanovic (Luxembourg).
  • The final whistle is blown.

Match Statistics

  • Republic of Ireland
  • Luxembourg

Corners Won

8 0

Shots on Target

4 1

Shots off Target

7 1

Fouls Committed

17 15
  • Republic of Ireland

    Luxembourg

  • 2Goals0
  • 2Yellow Card(s)6
  • 0Red Card(s)0
  • 4Shots on Goal1
  • 7Shots Wide1
  • 0Shot(s) Blocked0
  • 1Save(s)2
  • 11Total Shots2
  • 17Fouls Committed15
  • 8Corner(s)0
  • 3Offside(s)0