Sharon Boyle’s Republic of Ireland U16 development squad played the second of three matches in the UEFA U16 Development Tournament with a very convincing 4-0 win over Croatia, bouncing back after yesterday’s 5-1 defeat to hosts Switzerland.

The breakthrough for Ireland came early in the game when Danielle Murray headed towards goal. Sarah McKevitt rose to challenge the Croatian keeper who spilled the ball and Evelyn Daly crept in to make it 1-0.

Greencastle’s Roma McLaughlin made it 2-0 in the 66th minute when she got her head on the end of a good cross from yesterday’s goal scorer, Niamh Prior. Her effort came off the cross bar but she made no mistake when volleying the rebound. Less than five minutes later, McLaughlin scored her second goal when she controlled a cross on her chest, turned and finished skillfully off her left foot.

The final goal came in the 74th minute when Dearbhaile O'Beirne found Lifford’s Aislinn Meaney on the far post who volleyed back across goal to make it 4-0.

Commenting on the match, U16 girls Head Coach Sharon Boyle said,

“We started off very well. The Croatians put everyone behind the ball in the first half and were difficult to break down but the first goal lifted the girls’ confidence. In the second half, we did well to create space and dominate possession in midfield which allowed us to score and create chances. It was good to see the girls bounce back after yesterday’s defeat and we look forward to the challenge of playing Belgium on Wednesday.”