Aidan Downes claimed a 90th minute goal to help the Ireland U19's complete a rapid turnaround in their fortunes in the second of two friendly matches against the Czech Republic today in Chocen.
Ireland’s win was a remarkable achievement given that they were beaten 1-4 by these same opponents on Tuesday last.
Manager Sean McCaffrey made four changes to the team that started on Tuesday and Ireland stepped up their performance considerably to achieve an encouraging result.
Ireland are preparing for the second, elite, qualifying tournament for the UEFA Championship which will be held in Ireland next month.
Manager McCaffrey had to travel to the Czech Republic for these friendly matches without several of his first choice players who were needed by their clubs for vital promotion and relegation matches this week.
He took the opportunity to introduce a number of younger players and also gave some fringe players an opportunity to state a case for inclusion in the Championship squad for next month’s qualifiers against Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria.
He gave a first start, for instance, to midfielder Keith Quinn of Sheffield United. Quinn is the youngest of three brothers who have played at international level for Ireland this season – Alan played for Ireland’s seniors and Stephen played for Ireland’s U21s. All three are with Sheffield United.
The manager was honest in his assessment of a performance he described as ‘poor’ on Tuesday but clearly Ireland were in much better form in today’s return.
They jumped in front when Adam Rooney scored after just eight minutes but the Czech Republic were level early in the second half.
Ireland continued to work hard to secure the result they needed to wipe out memories of Tuesday’s defeat and they were rewarded when Aidan Downes struck the winning goal in the 90th minute.
The second, elite qualifying phase of the UEFA Championship for the U19s will be played from May 14 to May 19 in Dublin and Drogheda.
Ireland will compete with Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria, with only the team that finishes top of the group advancing to the Under-19 European Championship Finals, to be staged in Austria from 16-27 July.
Ireland will open their qualification matches against Bulgaria on Monday, May 14th at Richmond Park followed two days later when they host Germany at Tolka Park. They conclude their group on Saturday, May 19th by facing Hungary at United Park, Drogheda.
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