Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Don Givens paid tribute to his under-strength charges yesterday after they ended their 18-month wait for a victory.
Ireland secured a 2-1 injury-time win over Finland to move joint top of the table in the Madeira Invitational Tournament.
UCD midfielder Gary Dicker was the Irish hero with the winning goal in the 92nd minute of the Funchal fixture.
Bohemians striker Stephen Ward opened the scoring against the Finns before Perparim Hetemaj equalised with a 67th-minute penalty after a foul by Cork City’s Roy O’Donovan on Jarno Parikka.
The positive result came after a winless streak of 10 games, stretching back to September 2004 when the Irish beat Cyprus 3-0 in a UEFA Championships qualifying match.
Givens’ side can recapture the trophy they won in Madeira two years ago if they beat Portugal in the final game of the tournament at the Estadio de Machico tomorrow.
The Irish boss paid tribute to the heart and determination of his side, which featured only seven players from the original 20 he named for the event.
Givens said: "It was a result we deserved after incredible commitment from the lads. The desire was remarkable. We wanted to make the last game against the Portuguese count and we’ve got that now. I felt that we looked comfortable at 1-0 up but we gave away a stupid penalty to let them back into it.
"I was delighted to see Gary pop up with the winner in his first game as captain of the side."
