Republic of Ireland U21 3 Turkey U21 2
Republic of Ireland’s under-21s completed a sensational late comeback to dumbfound Turkey and get their European qualifying campaign off to a winning start at Turners Cross on Friday night.
It was Jim Crawford’s substitutions that sealed the deal, with Zak Gilsenan’s 87th-minute penalty bringing the hosts level before Aidomo Emakhu found the winner six minutes into added time.
It was a perfect finish to Ireland’s first competitive match back at Turners Cross in 14 years, overcoming a disallowed goal and some Turkish gamesmanship to get the three points in front of 3,754 fans.
They started the stronger and troubled Turkey from the off, almost opening the scoring in the fifth minute but Sam Curtis’s powerful header was blocked on the line.
Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz, given his Serie A debut last month, had been identified as Turkey’s danger man and he gave them the lead against the run of play from the spot. Anselmo Garcia McNulty was the man punished for bringing down Erencan Yardimci.
That seemed to knock Irish confidence, although Seán Roughan had an opportunity to level when the Turkish goalkeeper Dogan Alemdar flapped at an Andrew Moran cross. His finish, however, was blazed over.
Half-time allowed Crawford to settle his troops and their higher tempo began to force errors.
Roughan’s range of passing and crosses gave Ireland their route back in and brought the crowd alive.
From another corner, Curtis’s header was half-cleared but Moran controlled and without letting the ball drop, dispatched a stinging volley to the top corner.
Moran was full of running now and he looked to have given Ireland the lead three minutes later. The referee called play back, however, for a foul that looked soft.
Yildiz was withdrawn but his replacement Cihan Canak announced his arrival almost immediately with a vicious volley low into the bottom corner to restore their lead.
But Moran, dubbed the ‘Irish Phil Foden’ by a former coach at Brighton, brilliantly dribbled his way past the Turkish defence before being brought down.
His Blackburn Rovers team-mate Gilsenan, born in Australia to Irish parents and brought to Europe by Barcelona, stepped up to blast a quality penalty into the corner.
They almost snatched it when Bosun Lawal powered a header towards the net but Alemdar saved superbly.
However, he could do nothing about Emakhu’s inch-perfect finish after a brilliant run and cross by another sub in Tony Spingett.
Roughan and a Turkish mentor were sent off amid the celebration in the dugouts as Ireland left the happier.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: J Keeley; S Curtis, B Lawal, A Garcia MacNulty, S Roughan (J Furlong, 90+4); M Healy, S Grehan (T Springett, 84), B Adeeko; Adam Murphy (Z Gilsenan, 72), J Kenny (A Emakhu, 72), A Moran.
TURKEY: D Alemdar; UK Yildiz, S Saatci (E Bayram, 72), R Tagir, Y Ozcan; AB Potur, B Elmaz (M Baltaci, 81), C Turkmen, K Yildiz (C Canak, 71); E Yardimci, E Destan.
Referee: J Jaanovits (Est).
