Republic of Ireland 1
New Zealand 1
Netherlands 1
Nigeria 0
Canada 2
Republic of Ireland 2 - 0 Luxembourg
REPORT | Ireland U21 2-0 Luxembourg U21
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
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
Substitutes
- 23 David Odumosu (G)
- 5 Oisin McEntee
- 8 Conor Noß
- 11 Ronan Boyce
- 15 Alexander Gilbert
- 19 Evan Ferguson
- 20 Dawson Devoy
- 21 Andrew Moran
- 22 Colm Whelan
Coach
James Crawford
Luxembourg
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
Match Statistics
- Republic of Ireland
- Luxembourg
Minute by Minute Commentary