England 1 - 3 Republic of Ireland | 2019 - Boys Under 15 | 999946321

Under-15 Boys Friendlies International Friendly | St George's Park, England

Sunday, December 15, 2019

England 1 - 3 Republic of Ireland

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Ireland U15: Win for Ireland over England

The Republic of Ireland Under-15 team ended 2019 in superb fashion with a 3-1 win over England at St George’s Park today.

15th Dec 2019

Two goals from Shamrock Rovers forward Kevin Zefi and a strike from captain Caden McLoughlin was enough for Jason Donohue’s team to secure their sixth win in six games this season.

Ireland made a dream start after 30 seconds when they took the lead. Ireland kept possession from kick off and McLoughlin played in Zefi who beat the defender one-on-one and found the finish.

The visitors were dominant in possession against the hosts and caused England difficulties with their pressing game.

On the half-hour mark they made it 2-0 through McLoughlin. Good work through a combination of Adam Murphy and Zefi led McLoughlin to find the finish to double the visitors’ lead.

In the second half England found a way back into the game when a long-range effort by Zion Atta found the Irish net.

The game was a much more even affair but Zefi secured the victory in the 73rd minute when he pressed the backline went through one-on-one and cooly finished past the goalkeeper.

Ireland saw out the game to preserve their 100 per cent winning record for the season.

England: Wooster (GK); Silcott-Duberry, Scanlon, Gee, Dorrington (C); Sousa, Barker, Castledine; Donley, O’Reilly, Atta.

Substitutes: Cisse (GK), Bellingham, Mithcell, Mendel-Idowu

Ireland: Walsh (GK) (O’Leary 74); Cowper Gray (Kelly 74), O’Brien (Hughes 74), Curtis, Heffernan; McManus, O’Brien Whitmarsh (Vata 55), Ferizaj; McLoughlin (C) (Nolan 74), Zefi (Tetteh 74), Murphy (Nugent 55).

Referee: Mark Wright

Ireland U15: Donohue's squad set to face England

The Republic of Ireland Under-15s will round off what has been a hugely positive year by facing England in an international friendly on Sunday, December 15th.

10th Dec 2019

The Republic of Ireland Under-15s will round off what has been a hugely positive year by facing England in an international friendly on Sunday, December 15th.

Jason Donohue's squad have impressed this season by winning a UEFA Development Tournament in Mayo and also beating Poland twice in Galway - scoring 19 goals and conceding three.

This final game of the calendar year will see Donohue select from an 18-player squad that includes midfielder Cian Barrett, son of former Ireland international Graham, and defender Cathal Heffernan, son of Olympians Rob and Marian.

"We are looking forward to the game as it will be a great test against top opposition. It comes on the back of two very good performances against Poland, where every player got a chance to start a game and represent their country," said Donohue.

"This is our sixth game of 2019, where team has won five games. They have progressed to play two different styles, in terms of competing in a Development Tournament and then matching up to top-class opposition like Poland.

"In 2020, we will have games against Spain, Netherlands, and Czech Republic, who are the kind of top calibre teams that act as the perfect benchmark to test ourselves against. We want the players to kick on in their development so playing against elite level opposition is brilliant for them."

Republic of Ireland Under-15 Squad
Goalkeepers: Shay O'Leary (Shamrock Rovers), Conor Walsh (Mayo SL)
Defenders: Finn Cowper Gray (Klub Kildare), Luke O'Brien (Bray Wanderers), Cathal Heffernan (Cork City), Daniel Kelly (Mayo SL), Sam Curtis (Shamrock Rovers)
Midfielders: Justin Ferizaj, Cian Barrett (Shamrock Rovers), Adam Murphy (Belvedere), Alex Nolan (Cabinteely), Joe O'Brien Whitmarsh (Cork City), James McManus (St Kevin's Boys), Rocco Vata (Celtic)
Forwards: Gideon Tetteh, Kevin Zeffi (Shamrock Rovers), Caden McLaughlin (Malaga), Adam Nugent (Mayo SL)

International Friendly - England v Republic of Ireland
Sunday, December 15
KO 12:00
St George's Park
#IRLU15