UEFA Under-17 qualifying tournament: It could not be more finely balanced, nor the stakes much higher, as Brian Kerr attempts to qualify an Irish youths team for the finals of a championship for the seventh time in his five-year reign before an expected crowd of 5,000 at Richmond Park tonight.
Kerr's latest batch of under-17s meet Yugoslavia in the final game of their qualifying tournament staged in Dublin this week with the sides having an identical record after they both beat Cyprus and Slovenia 4-0 and 3-0 respectively. Spice is added to the showdown tonight with the prospect of a penalty shoot-out if the sides are level after the 80-minutes play. The prize is a trip to the UEFA under-17 finals in Denmark in late April-early May.
The scene is set thanks to a late brace of goals from Irish winger Willo Flood against Slovenia at Belfield on Wednesday which means both teams have identical records going into the last game.
"With 20 minutes to go on Wednesday night Yugoslavia would have needed only a draw against us," said Kerr, "now it's a cup final with a very interesting scenario. I'm happy we're in a position where it's dead even. There is now also an addendum in the rules that if the two teams that finish level have drawn it goes straight to penalties. Before they used to draw lots."
Yugoslavia beat Ireland 2-1 in a tournament in Belgium last year and represent an entirely different proposition to what the Irish have faced so far this week.
"They are a much superior side to the other two," says Kerr. "But there is a lot of potential in this Irish team. Vincent (Butler) did a good job with them last year and we've brought in another couple of players who've done well."
The knife-edge scenario is not something that would appear to faze the team's emerging talisman, Flood. "Willo is a bit more than a winger," says Kerr. "Man City play him in the middle of two and we play him wide right in the middle of three to get the best out of him.
"He doesn't depend on getting a supply of the ball, he can go and get it himself. Willo has that ability to stay involved. He has a good football brain, is a tenacious tackler for a slightly-built lad."
The former Cherry Orchard prodigy is in confident mood. "It would mean so much to qualify," says Flood. "If we do, I want us to play England. They beat Scotland the other day in their qualifiers and only have to beat Lithuania to go through. So I'd love to meet them in Denmark. A few of the lads at City are in the England squad and it would be great to shut them up.
"It's been a good week so far and hopefully we can win this one and go through," adds Dubliner Flood, who's enjoying his second full season with Manchester City.
"We're aware of the past achievements of youth teams under Brian Kerr. I watched them on television and it would be great to emulate them."
Having played the same starting XI in the first two games, Kerr is likely to freshen up his side a little. The effervescent Flood is nursing a couple of bangs and bruises while striker Paul Murphy has a dead leg and left-back Eddie Keyes has a slight ankle knock.
All three, though, should be fit for selection. However, Kerr, as usual, won't name his side until this morning having allowed all his players to sleep soundly in the knowledge that they all have a part to play.
