The Republic of Ireland Men’s Under-15s were edged out 3-2 by Croatia in their final game of the UEFA Development Tournament in Velika Gorica, Zagreb on Monday morning.

Despite a stunning strike from St. Patrick’s Athletic's Billy Hayes and a coolly converted penalty from his clubmate Michael Noonan, Ireland finished the competition in defeat following on from their loss to Spain and their victory over Cyprus in their previous fixtures.

The young Boys in Green had made the perfect start as Hayes fired them in front in just the sixth minute when he blasted the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle following a surging run.

But the lead would only last five minutes as Croatia levelled the scores when captain Karlo Pajsar headed home from a corner before they completed the turnaround in the 35th minute as goalkeeper Alex Noonan was beaten by a brilliant shot from the edge of the box.

The Republic started the second period slowly and they were punished moments after the restart as the home side made it 3-1 with Bruno Misura tapping in from close-range.

The Irish would half the deficit just past the hour when substitute Michael Noonan slotted the ball past the keeper from the penalty spot but they couldn’t snatch an equaliser in the closing stages although they were unlucky not to do so when Brody Lee’s thunderous drive from distance rattled the crossbar.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Jason Donohue said: "The main objective before the tournament was to get as many players as possible playing international minutes.

"They are getting exposure to the demands of international football and in Spain and Croatia they have come up against to two Tier 1 nations. The players did very well against that opposition and gave me a good indication of what the squad depth is like for our Under-15s team moving forward.

"We went in to today's game with a number of players ruled out and had to adapt and we were very unlucky against a very good Croatia side.

"We play Poland next and it's another opportunity for us to look at players against top quality opposition."

Croatia: Duvnjak, Bura, Horvat, Zvonimir Kostelac, Mijatovic, Misura, Mohorovicic, Murica, Pajsar, Petrovic, Smiljanic.

Republic of Ireland: Alex Noonan, AJ Doyle (McDonagh 52), Martos, Oladiti (McDonnell ht), Kovalevskis (Umeh 52), Steward, Hayes (Solanke 60), Costello (Lee ht), Tollett (Michael Noonan 52), McGrath, Cian Doyle.

Referee: Mario Stanic (Croatia)

UEFA Development Tournament results

Wednesday, October 19 | Republic of Ireland MU15 2-1 Cyprus MU15
Friday, October 21 | Republic of Ireland MU15 0-4 Spain MU15
Monday, October 24 | Croatia MU15 3-2 Republic of Ireland MU15