rebpublic of Ireland u21 futsal squad announced

**sheao** · 27/03/2008, 10:09 PM

The following is the Republic of Ireland Under-21 Futsal squad for the forthcoming UEFA Under-21 Futsal Championship matches in Andorra from 8-11th April 2008.

John Perkins
Shamrock Rovers

Lloyd Massey
Bray Wanderers

Mark Langtry
Shamrock Rovers

Neil Harkin
Derry City

Brendan Dawson
Shelbourne

Shane O'Neill
Bray Wanderers

Dane Massey
Bray Wanderers

Alan Lynch
Longford Town

Philip McDonagh
Bohemians

Ian Byrne
Bohemians

Cathal Lordan
Cork City

Keith Gallagher
Bluebell United

Craig Duggan
Cork City

Cian McBrien
Galway United

The Qualifying matches to be played in Andorra are as follows:

Tuesday April 8th 2008:

Holland V Republic of Ireland

Wednesday April 9th 2008:

Andorra V Republic of Ireland

Friday April 11th 2008:

Republic of Ireland V Azerbaijan

The squad recently completed a warm up tour to Barcelona where they recorded two victories, most notably a 2-0 win over FC Barcelona senior B team.

FAI Futsal Coordinator, Derek O’Neill said:

“This tournament is a journey into unchartered waters for us in many respects. It is the first ever UEFA Under-21Futsal tournament and the Republic of Ireland’s first ever appearance at an official Futsal competition. The teams we’ve been drawn with such as Holland and Andorra have a comparatively long Futsal tradition. Azerbaijan is one of the new emerging Futsal nations and their recent results have been impressive.

Our players are relatively very new to the game of Futsal and this competition represents an opportunity to gauge the progress we have been making over the last year or so. While it will be a tough task to qualify as group winner for the finals in Russia later this year, I’m quietly optimistic that the players have the required technique and mentality to make a positive impression in Andorra.”

The group winner will qualify for the UEFA Under-21 Futsal Finals in St. Petersburgh, Russia in December 2008.