AT THE END of a year for Irish football which has been overshadowed by off-the-field problems, the country’s underage teams continue to provide us with some much-needed optimism for the future.
Playing for the final time in 2019, Jason Donohue’s U15 side recorded their sixth win in as many games by seeing off England in a friendly at St George’s Park yesterday.
Shamrock Rovers forward Kevin Zefi scored twice, while midfielder Caden McLoughlin of Malaga — Ireland’s captain — was also among the goals in a 3-1 win.
Zefi put the visitors in front by finishing off a fantastic phase of build-up play with just 30 seconds on the clock, before McLoughlin doubled the lead on the half-hour mark.
A long-range strike by Crystal Palace’s Zion Atta in the second half got England back into the game, but Zefi capped the win in the 73rd minute after pouncing on some sloppy defending.
HIGHLIGHTS🎥| Watch #IRLU15🇮🇪score after 30 seconds as they beat England 3-1
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) December 16, 2019
Two goals from Kevin Zefi either side of a Caden McLoughlin strike sealed an excellent win for Jason Donohue's team 👍#COYBIG pic.twitter.com/aR03zZWFqd
England: Wooster; Silcott-Duberry, Scanlon, Gee, Dorrington (captain); Sousa, Barker, Castledine; Donley, O’Reilly, Atta.
Ireland: Walsh (O’Leary 74); Cowper-Gray (Kelly 74), O’Brien (Hughes 74), Curtis, Heffernan; McManus, O’Brien-Whitmarsh (Vata 55), Ferizaj; McLoughlin (captain) (Nolan 74), Zefi (Tetteh 74), Murphy (Nugent 55).
Referee: Mark Wright.
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