Under 21 match/Israel 3; Rep of Ireland 1: The Republic of Ireland kissed goodbye to their chances of qualifying for the Uefa Under-21 Championship finals yesterday.
Manager Don Givens insisted his side’s qualification would be over if they failed to beat Israel at the Municipal Stadium in Herzliya – and his young team were sent crashing, with two early goals proving costly.
Less than two minutes after Sheffield Wednesday’s Glenn Whelan had been booked for a third-minute foul on Shai Abutbul, Israel took the lead. From Moshe Ohayon’s corner, Yaniv Azrane rose unopposed to flick a header from eight yards beyond Notts County goalkeeper Saul Deeney.
Within a minute Ireland suffered another bitter blow, with Leeds centre back Henry McStay stooping to clear a long-range shot from Ohayon, only to inadvertently head past the wrongfooted and unfortunate Deeney.
McStay was part of a radically revamped defence shorn of the services of the suspended Paddy McCarthy and injured Stephen Kelly, with Manchester United’s Paul McShane stepping in to make his debut.
Given looked to Brentford’s Jay Tabb and Daryl Murphy of Waterford United for the goals. Manchester City winger Willo Flood delivered the perfect in-swinging free kick from the right for McStay to plant a firm header beyond Israel goalkeeper Tom Almadon. At that stage Ireland looked
good value to go on and salvage something from the match, but their goal came under siege at the start of the second period and seven minutes after the restart they were again cast two goals adrift.
McShane had already blocked one effort on the line from Shlomi Arbeitman and McStay had thrown himself in front of a drive from Ohayon, who also saw an acutely angled shot saved by Deeney, before he was eventually beaten again. After an Ohayon corner found its way back to the Ashdod winger, he delivered a far-post ball to Abutbul – whose header back into the danger area found Arbeitman for a close-range header into the top left-hand corner.
ISRAEL UNDER-21: Al Madon, Iluz, Keinan,
Haimovich, Abo Siam, Abutbul, Dajani, Ohayon,
Cohen, Azran, Arbeitman. Subs: Shekel, Shahbary,
Danin, Sarsour, Amasha, Vermot, Yitzhaki.REPUBLIC OF IRELAND UNDER-21:
Deeney, Foley, McShane, McStay, Paisley,
Flood, Potter, Whelan, McGeady, Tabb, Murphy.Subs: Henderson, Doyle, Thornton, Kohlmann,
Alan O’Brien, Quigley, Fitzgerald.
Referee: Dragomir Tanovic (Serbia and Montenegro)
