Norway 4 - 1 Republic of Ireland | 2015 - Under-21 Friendlies | 999941124

Under-21 Mens Friendlies U21 International Friendly | Marienlyst Stadium, Drammen

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Norway 4 - 1 Republic of Ireland

Report
Preview
Lineups
Minute by Minute Commentary
Statistics
Gallery

Disappointment for Ireland U21s in Drammen

THE Republic of Ireland U21 side suffered a disappointing 4-1 loss to Norway in a friendly international in Drammen tonight.

9th Oct 2014

Norway 4-1 Republic of Ireland

THE Republic of Ireland U21 side suffered a disappointing 4-1 loss to Norway in a friendly international in Drammen tonight.

Norway scored twice either side of half-time to seal the victory with Alan Browne replying from the penalty spot for the Irish in the 76th minute.

Both sides had come close before the Norwegians broke the deadlock in the 27th minute. Less than a minute earlier Jack Byrne had a decent effort from outside the box that curled narrowly over.

Norway's opener came after a break down the left and the ball came to Mohamed Elyounoussi, who cut inside before he firing the ball into the far corner.

The second goal came in the 33rd minute with Bard Finne sending the ball in from the left, Irish keeper Ian Lawlor made a brave block but the rebound fell to Veton Berisha and he turned it home.

Norway changed almost their entire side at the break and the fresh legs told. They made it 3-0 on 53 minutes through a close range finish from Petter Strand.

Three minutes later it was 4-0 with Kristoffer Normann Hansen scoring from the edge of the box.

Preston North End midfielder Browne gave the Irish some sort of consolation when he converted from the spot but overall it was a disappointing night defensively for the Irish.

King said: “We’re here to learn and we certainly did that. The purpose of games like this is to try out things, experiment and look at players. We’ve certainly plenty of room for improvement.

“We gave six people new caps at this level. I know we can do better. It’s obviously disappointing to lose but the positive was that we worked hard right to the end and there were some good individual performances.

“We didn’t adapt to the artificial surface as well as Norway did but that was worth experiencing too as more and more countries are using that type of surface.”

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Ian Lawlor (Danny Rogers 60), Shane Griffin (Dylan Connolly 60), Jack Connors (Kenny McEvoy 46) , Tommy Hoban, Darragh Lenihan (Mason Watkins-Clark 46), Kieron Sadlier (Alan Browne 46), Pierce Sweeney (Sean Kavanagh 46), Sam Byrne (Philip Roberts 60), Jack Byrne, Sean Long, Eoghan O'Connell.

King’s U21s ready for Norwegian challenge

REPUBLIC of Ireland U21 head coach Noel King is looking for his young side to build on their recent impressive performances when they meet Norway in a friendly in Drammen tomorrow (6.00pm Irish).

8th Oct 2014

REPUBLIC of Ireland U21 head coach Noel King is looking for his young side to build on their recent impressive performances when they meet Norway in a friendly in Drammen tomorrow (6.00pm Irish).

King’s side drew with Qatar’s Olympic side in May then produced a disciplined display against Germany last month.

With a view towards next year’s qualifying campaign, the Irish boss is getting to know this new crop of U21 players and believes this fixture will be very beneficial in that process.

“We had a long day travelling to Norway and naturally everybody was tired after that but we trained last night to loosen ourselves out and now everybody is fresher and ready for the game,” said King.

“Norway finished third in the World U20 twice and also third in UEFA U21 Championships so we know it’ll be tough. They have traditionally been physical and direct but we’ll have to adjust to whatever way they play.

“For all us, staff and players, it’s still a case of getting to know each other. They will learn what we’re looking for as staff while for us we are continuing to learn about their attributes and their versatility.

“It’s all about developing as a group and working out how we can tie it all together to be a competitive force.”

After a promising start to the most recent U21 qualifying campaign Ireland eventually fell away in the group and King wants to push closer to qualifying for the 2017 UEFA U21 Championships.

“We’ve been very good in recruiting players and winning games but we want to go on and challenge to qualify,” said King.

“We always start to struggle when players move on to the next level and are longer available to you but that’s probably the case with all U21 teams.

“Football is strange in that pinpointing exactly why you don’t qualify can be difficult but there are always little things that could have gone your way that would have made the difference.

“Over the years we would be stronger at producing defenders than forwards so I suppose that attacking area is one where we’ll be looking for somebody to make their mark.”

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:

Ian Lawlor (Manchester City)

Danny Rogers (Aberdeen – on-loan at Dumbarton FC)

Sean Long (Reading)

Mason Watkins-Clark (Stoke City)

Thomas Hoban (Watford)

Shane Griffin (Reading)

Eoghan O’Connell (Celtic)

Pierce Sweeney (Reading)

Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers)

Alan Browne (Preston North End)

Jack Connors (Dagenham & Redbridge)