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Republic of Ireland 1 - 1 Czech Republic
U17 EURO: Late goal earns point against Czechs
Two games down, two games on the board for the Republic of Ireland Under-17s in the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championships after they drew with Czech Republic in the RSC, Waterford.
Similar to their previous game in Group A - a 1-1 draw with Greece last Friday - Ireland started brightly with Matt Everitt and Festy Ebosele again proving to be constant attacking threats.
Both players registered shots at goal inside the first period, while Conor Carty had a great opportunity to open the scoring but the Wolverhampton Wanderers player fired wide.
The positive play from Colin O'Brien's team kept Czech Republic on the blackfoot and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu had little to do. Yet that opening goal evaded the boys in green when their attacking prowess deserved it.
When the first goal did arrive, it was for the Czechs with substitute Vaclav Sejk scoring with his first touch of the game as he blasted in from close range. It was totally against the run of play.
With Ireland manager Mick McCarthy, Under-21 manager Stephen Kenny, Under-19 Head Coach Tom Mohan, and tournament ambassador John O'Shea amongst the 2,613 spectators in attendance, it was Ireland who looked the more likely to score next.
They had to wait for it, but Omobamidele made no mistake when converting from inside the penalty area after another set-piece from the training ground paid off for O'Brien's side.
Ebosele was harshly given a second yellow card, and ultimately sent off, but the battling spirit shown by Ireland ensured that they got another point ahead of Thursday's decider with Belgium.
O'Brien will be hoping that a large crowd turns out in Tallaght Stadium on Thursday - just like they did for the Greece game - as they aim to secure passage through to the quarter-finals.
Republic of Ireland: Bazunu; McEvoy, Omobamidele, MacNulty, Furlong; Hodge, Keogh (Holt 68); Ebosele, McCann (Kennedy 85), Carty (Giurgi 75); Everitt.
Czech Republic: Stejskal; Kozeluh, Stary, Hellebrand, Kurka; Hronik, Hajek; Pech, Ritter (Gedeon 85), Wojatschke (Silhart 84); Toula (Sejk 63).
Referee: Rade Obrenovic (Slovenia).
U17 EURO: Ireland v Czech Republic Preview
Ireland drew their first game in Group A following the concession of a late equaliser to Greece, but their overall performance - in front of 4,265 spectators in Tallaght Stadium - has given them the belief that they can advance in this competition.
Training has gone well with a few players recovering from slight knocks, while Head Coach Colin O'Brien is keen for his squad to embrace the opportunity of featuring in this tournament on home soil as they set about taking on Czech Republic.
TEAM NEWS
Ireland have a full squad to choose from with goalkeeper Jimmy Corcoran available after serving a ban for the draw with Greece.
QUOTES
Republic of Ireland Head Coach Colin O'Brien
"We are in good shape and ready for our second game of the tournament. The players are upbeat and they know what is at stake with everything to play for in Group A after all four teams drew in the opening round.
"We have always received a great welcome in Waterford and the energy from the crowd will be important, as it gave our players a boost in Tallaght Stadium last Friday. We hope that they can experience the same again in the RSC on Monday night.
"There were a lot of good points to take from our performance against Greece, especially some of our patterns of play, our pressing, and our counter-attacking. Now, we have an opportunity to take those positives into our next game and add even more to them in order to secure victory."
SQUAD LISTS
Republic of Ireland
Goalkeepers: Gavin Bazunu (Manchester City), Jimmy Corcoran (Preston North End), Harry Halwax (Derby County)
Defenders: Sean McEvoy (Ballinmallard United), Luke Turner (Aberdeen), Anselmo Garcia McNulty (Real Betis), Andrew Omobamidele (Norwich City), Timi Sobowale (Manchester City), James Furlong (Shamrock Rovers)
Midfielders: Charlie McCann (Manchester United), Joe Hodge (Manchester City), Brandon Holt (St Patrick's Athletic), Seamas Keogh (Southampton), Ronan McKinley (Derry City), Sean Kennedy (Sunderland), Festy Ebsoele (Derby County), Roland Idowu (Southampton)
Forwards: Matt Everitt (Brighton & Hove Albion), Conor Carty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Joshua Giurgi (Norwich City)
Czech Republic
Goalkeepers: Lukáš Horníček (FK Pardubice), Adam Stejskal (FC Red Bull Salzburg/Rak.)
Defenders: Jan Hellebrand (FC Fastav Zlín), Josef Koželuh (FC Viktoria Plzeň), Petr Kurka (FK Pardubice), František Matys (SK Slavia Praha), Štepán Starý (SK Slavia Praha), Martin Šimek (FC Viktoria Plzeň)
Midfielders: Filip Gedeon (AC Sparta Praha), Tomáš Hájek (SK Slavia Praha), Lukáš Hroník (SK Slavia Praha), Petr Nováček (SK Sigma Olomouc), David Pech (FK Mladá Boleslav), Adam Ritter (FC Vysočina Jihlava), Filip Šilhart (AC Sparta Praha), Samuel Šimek (FK Pardubice), Jáchym Šíp (SK Sigma Olomouc), Vojtěch Wojatschke (FC Baník Ostrava)
Forwards: Václav Sejk (AC Sparta Praha), Adam Toula (SK Slavia Praha)
KEY STATS
- Ireland and Czech Republic have met twice in this tournament, with the Czechs winning both times - scoring three goals and conceding just one
- Ireland qualified automatically as host nation, but have played international friendly games against Turkey, Czech Republic, Germany, England, Belgium, Poland, and Finland over the last year
- Runners-up to Netherlands in the Elite Round after beating Israel and Northern Ireland, Czech Republic started their campaign with three wins in the Qualifying Round, scoring nine goals and not letting any in
- This is Ireland's 12th appearance in this finals tournament with their best finish coming as champions in 1998 (when it was graded at Under-16 level)
- This is Czech Republic's 11th appearance in this finals tournament with their best finish coming as champions in 1990 (when it was graded at Under-16 level)
PREVIOUS RESULTS
Friday, May 3: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Greece (Tallaght Stadium)
Friday, May 3: Czech Republic 1-1 Belgium (Tolka Park)
MATCH DETAILS
Republic of Ireland v Czech Republic
Monday, May 6
Group A
RSC, Waterford
Kick-Off: 19:00
Live on TV: RTÉ2
Referee: Rade Obrenovic (Slovenia)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Game Hashtag: #IRLCZE
Tournament Hashtag: #U17EURO
Ireland Team Hashtag: #IRLU17
TICKET NEWS
- Tickets will be available at the RSC from 17:00, priced at €5 for adults and free for Under-16s
- Tickets are still available online via www.fai.ie/tickets
Tactical Lineups
Republic of Ireland
Substitutes
- 16 Jimmy Corcoran (G)
- 23 Harry Halwax (G)
- 4 Timi Sobowale
- 12 Brandon Holt
- 15 Luke Turner
- 17 Sean Kennedy
- 18 Ronan McKinley
- 19 Roland Idowu
- 20 Joshua Giurgi
Czech Republic
Substitutes
- 16 Lukáš Horníček (G)
- 2 Jáchym Šíp
- 9 Filip Gedeon
- 10 Petr Nováček
- 13 František Matys
- 14 Samuel Šimek
- 15 Martin Šimek
- 17 Filip Šilhart
- 19 Václav Sejk
Officials
- Referee Rade Obrenovič
- Assistant Referee Riku Vihreävuori
- Assistant Referee Raimonds Tatriks
- 4th Referee Petri Viljanen
- Uefa Delegate Alojzije Supraha
- Referee Observer Dejan Filipovic
- Sandra Celant
Match Statistics
- Republic of Ireland
- Czech Republic
Minute by Minute Commentary