Following an opening defeat to mini tournament hosts Romania, Alex Whelan's team hit back in their second game as they overcame Albania in a tight encounter.

Donnacha McCarthy popped up in the 22nd minute to score the only goal of the game, cutting in quickly on the left-hand side after receiving a cleverly switched pass from Kevin Kelly before driving a hard low shot in at the near post.

Ireland dominated possession after that but time and again hit the frame of the goal or the Albanian keeper made superb saves, however they did enough to secure the three points and a historic win.

Whelan was full of praise for his team and hoped that they would carry their confidence into Thursday's final group game against Georgia. However, they slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat.

As a result, Ireland just missed out on a place in the semi-finals and will instead compete for 5th place on Saturday.

Ireland Team: Darren McGarry, Donnacha McCarthy, Paul Costello, John Doherty, Darragh Stakelum, Kevin Kelly, Matthew Kearney