Rep of Ireland - 2 Saudia Arabia - 1 Twenty-four hours in the life of Stephen Elliott? When he woke on Saturday morning he had, he admitted, a sinking feeling he wouldn't be playing any part in Ireland's opening World Youth Cup game against Saudi Arabia that night, with the aching tendon in the arch of his right foot still troubling him and jeopardising his place in manager Gerry Smith's starting line-up.

By yesterday morning, while sitting in the shade at the grounds of the Islamic University in Al-Ain, with an ice pack strapped around the injury, watching his team-mates "warm" down after the exertions of the night before, the 19-year-old Dubliner was still beaming, reflecting on the two goals he had scored to give Ireland just the start they had sought to their campaign.

"I didn't think I'd make it, to be honest with you, but it worked out grand," he smiled.

And his goals, in the 18th and 77th minutes, either side of Eisa Al Mahyani's 49th-minute equaliser, did his manager just grand too.

"He had his fitness test at 9.30 in the morning, and I'm kind of glad he passed it," said Smith.

The doubt over Elliott's fitness was just one of the factors that had delayed Smith's team selection for the game, with concerns about the Saudi's threat from midfield - as noted in their 2-0 friendly victory over Argentina - finally persuading him to move Glen Whelan from his recent right-back role to play in the centre of midfield alongside Darren Potter, with David Bell on the left and Willo Flood on the right, leaving no place for Liverpool's Michael Foley.

Left-back Stephen Capper, like Elliott a product of the Belvedere boys club in Dublin, took over the captaincy from Whelan, with Stephen Kelly moving to right back, and Paddy McCarthy partnering John Fitzgerald in the centre of defence. Jonathan Daly, meanwhile, won the contest to play alongside Elliott up front.

A crowd of 9,055 turned up for the game at the Sheikh Khalifa Stadium, the vast majority arriving in coaches from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Vastly outnumbered in the stands, then, but Ireland began confidently enough on the pitch, with Bell and Whelan imposing themselves from the start in midfield. It was a long ball from Bell, flicked into the path of Flood by Daly, that created the opening score. Flood whipped in a cross from the right that was met first time by Elliott, his Manchester City team-mate, at the near post, who side-footed the ball past Assaf Al Qarni.

The lead was only seriously threatened once before the break, when Osmah Al Harbi's shot from 20 yards bounced off Wayne Henderson's chest, the goalkeeper gathering the ball at the second attempt, while McCarthy came close to making it 2-0 with a header from a Bell cross a minute before half-time, with Al Qarni making the save.

"We did well in the first half," said Smith, "got the goal, and then we were saying at half-time that we needed to keep it tight, not let them back in - but, of course, Sod's Law, within four minutes it's 1-1, so that was the game-plan out the window."

Al Mahyani levelled the score, finding room between McCarthy and Capper to turn home an Abdullah Al Dosari through-ball that split the left side of the Irish defence.

"They looked like they were well up for it when they came out for the second half, and they had about 15, 20 minutes when they got on top of us," said Elliott.

They did too. Rattled by the equaliser, Ireland struggled to regain a grip in midfield, and only found it when Graham Ward was introduced in the 69th minute, replacing the tiring Whelan.

Before then, Henderson was in trouble when he needed two attempts to collect a long ball from Al Dosari, retrieving the rebound off Ahmed Al Suwailh as it was heading goalwards, while wild finishing by the Saudis - with two efforts from well-placed forwards hitting the side-netting - denied them a lead they looked, by then, well capable of taking.

The introduction of Eamon Zayed (who replaced Daly in the 61st minute) and Ward helped Ireland find their way back in to the game, though, with the lively Zayed having a particularly impressive half hour, adding some much-needed pace and aggression to the Irish attack.

It was Ward, though, who provided the game's decisive cross, sending in a quickly-taken corner on the left by Bell in the 77th minute, one that the unmarked Elliott glanced, superbly, past Al Qarni into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Elliott had three chances to complete his hat-trick in the final 13 minutes, while Ireland survived an injury time fright when substitute Naji Majrashi beat McCarthy to a through-ball, but his rising shot was saved by Henderson.

Three Irish players were booked: Kelly, Whelan and late substitute Kevin Doyle, whose booking, apparently for a dive, was the most questionable of the three.

Ireland, then, are one of only two European teams (along with Slovakia, 4-1 winners over the hosts), to win their opening game at the championships: the Czech Republic drew with Australia, while England, Spain and Germany all lost, to Japan, Argentina and Korea, respectively.

Next up is tomorrow's game against the Ivory Coast, surprise 2-1 winners over Mexico in their opening fixture on Saturday.

If proof were needed that football is a universal language, Ivory Coast coach Mama Ouattara proclaimed himself to be "over the moon" after his team won their first ever World Youth Cup game, at their 13th attempt, taking a 2-0 lead after the 55th minute, before Mexico, outplayed for much of the game, pulled a goal back five minutes from time.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Henderson (Aston Villa), Kelly (Tottenham - on loan at Watford), Fitzgerald (Blackburn Rovers), McCarthy (Manchester City), Capper (Scarborough, capt), Flood (Manchester City), Potter (Liverpool), Whelan (Manchester City - on loan at Bury), Bell (Rushden and Diamonds), Elliott (Manchester City), Daly (Stockport County). Subs: Zayed (Bray Wanderers) for Daly (61 mins), Ward (Kidderminster Harriers) for Whelan (69 mins), (Doyle for Elliott 90 mins).

SAUDI ARABIA: Al Quarni, Ambdu, Al Ghannam, Al Dosari (capt), Al Suwailh (Majrasghi, 55), Al Mahyani (Bin Saran, 86), Ateef, Al Salamah, Al Abouad (Hakami, 80), Al Khalidi, Al Harbi.

Referee: Matthew Breeze (Australia).