Republic of Ireland 1
New Zealand 1
Netherlands 1
Nigeria 0
Canada 2
Luxembourg 1 - 1 Republic of Ireland
REPORT | Luxembourg U21 1-1 Ireland U21
Colm Whelan netted Ireland’s goal, in the 69th minute, just minutes after taking to the pitch. However the hosts were awarded a penalty late on which was converted by Dylan Kuete.
Ireland had had their own spot-kick saved in the first half as they missed out on taking maximum points from their first two games.
Jim Crawford handed first Under-21 starts to Joel Bagan, Dawson Devoy and Evan Ferguson with Lee O’Connor returning to the starting XI.
The first chances of the game fell to Ireland and Will Ferry was involved in both. First he saw an effort flash past Lucas Fox’s post then he attempted to lob the goalkeeper but couldn’t generate enough power.
In the 26th minute Tyreik Wright went close when he was put through by Conor Coventry. The Salford City forward angled his shot towards goal however Fox denied him with a smart save.
Ireland had a glorious chance in the 32nd minute to go ahead when they were awarded a penalty. Ferry won the spotkick when he was brought down. Wright stepped up but Fox pulled off a fine save to keep the scores level.
It took until 20 minutes into the second half for either side to have a chance. Ferry worked hard to feed a ball to Coventry who fired at goal.
Ireland got the goal their play deserved on 69 minutes. Whelan and Andrew Moran were brought on for Ferguson and Ferry and it was Whelan who made an immediate impact finding the corner with a tidy finish.
But the hosts got back into the game through a penalty.
Oisin McEntee brought down his man when attempting to head away and the referee pointed to the spot. Kuete made no mistake with the penalty.
The two teams face each other again on October 8 in Ireland.
Speaking after the game Manager Jim Crawford said: “It was fantastic for Colm [Whelan] to come on and score a brilliant goal with his left foot - he's been doing that all week in training.
"We had a spell after the goal when we were in control but they still remained dangerous on the break. They scored to make it 1-1 with a penalty but it's a draw and perhaps takes the gloss off a fantastic Bosnia performance.
"We'll have to dust ourselves off and get ready for the next international window."
Luxembourg: Fox; Schmit (Sacras, 77), Olesen, D’Anzico; Ikene, Latic, Medina (Turping, 77), Osmanovic, Erkus (Torres, 77), Bernard (Kuete, 54), Curci (De Oliveiria 85).
Republic of Ireland: Maher; O’Connor, McEntee, O’Brien, Bagan; Coventry © (Johansson, 81), Kilkenny, Devoy (Noss, 81); Ferry (Moran, 67), Wright, Ferguson (Whelan, 67).
Referee: Loukas Sotiriou (Cyprus)
PREVIEW | Luxembourg U21 v Ireland U21
A 2-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in Zenica on Friday gave Jim Crawford’s men the perfect start thanks to goals from Tyreik Wright and Conor Coventry.
They’ll head to the Stade Jos Nosbaum stadium looking to take maximum points from their opening games and against opposition they’ll take on in Tallaght Stadium next month.
Match Details
Fixture: Luxembourg U21 v Republic of Ireland U21
KO Time: 3.00pm (Irish time)
Stadium: Stade Jos Nosbaum, Dudelange
Where to watch: RTÉ Player and the RTÉ News channel;
Match Officials
Referee: Loukas Sotiriou (CYP)
Assistant Referee: Omiros Tziortzis (CYP)
Assistant Referee: Ioannis Lazarou (CYP)
Fourth Official: Kyriakos Christodoulou (CYP)
Team News
No injury concerns.
Manager Jim Crawford said: “We saw them playing against Italy and they had the better chances before Italy scored and they caused Italy problems on the counter attack. It’s going to be a different type of challenge to Bosnia but a challenge we’re looking forward to as a group.”
Gavin Kilkenny said: “None of these away qualifiers are easy. It was a great 2-0 win away in Bosnia and the performance was very good but Luxembourg will pose a threat to us. They’ll be tough opposition and it’s up to us to be ready.”
Republic of Ireland Under-21 Squad
Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Bury Town, on loan from Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), Daniel Rose (Schalke 04).
Defenders: Ronan Boyce (Derry City), Joel Bagan (Cardiff City), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Anselmo Garcia MacNulty (Wolfsburg), Oisin McEntee (Greenock Morton, on loan from Newcastle United), 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), Ryan Johansson (Fortuna Sittard, on loan from Sevilla), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Andrew Moran (Brighton and Hove Albion), Conor Noss (Borussia Möchengladbach), Ross Tierney (Bohemians), Louie Watson (Derby County).
Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Will Ferry (Crawley Town, on loan from Southampton), Joshua ‘JJ’ Kayode (Rotherham United), Ollie O’Neill (Fulham), Colm Whelan (UCD), Tyreik Wright (Salford City, on loan from Aston Villa).
Fixtures - UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers (all times are Irish times)
Tuesday, September 7 | Luxembourg U21 v Republic of Ireland U21, Stade Jos Nosbaum, Dudelange, Luxembourg, KO: 3pm
Tactical Lineups
Luxembourg
Substitutes
- 12 Thimoty Martin (G)
- 3 Alexandre Sacras
- 13 Dylan Kuete
- 14 Fränz Sinner
- 15 Cédric Baiverlin
- 16 Diogo De Oliveira
- 17 Yohann Torres
- 18 Selim Turping
- 20 Roni Klisurica
Coach
Manuel Cardoni
Republic of Ireland
Substitutes
Coach
James Crawford
Officials
- Referee Loukas Sotiriou
- Assistant Referees Omiros Tziortzis
- UEFA Delegate Johny Vanspauwen
- Assistant Referee Two Ioannis Lazarou
- Fourth Official Kyriakos Christodoulou
- Referee Observer Kristinn Jakobsson
Match Statistics
- Luxembourg
- Republic of Ireland
Minute by Minute Commentary