FAI: REPORT | MU19 | O'Mahony on the double

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A Mark O’Mahony brace and a well-taken header from Player-of the Match Franco Umeh, proved enough in the end against a very strong Albanian side who battled right to the end.
Preparation for the qualifiers couldn’t have gone better for Boys in Green, coming off the back of excellent victories against Scotland and the Faroe Islands, as the serious business kicked off at the Elbasan Arena.
And full of confidence it didn’t take long for the visitors to get in front with just five minutes on the clock. Celtic man Rocco Vata, of Albanian descent, saw his shot well saved by Klevi Totoshi before Naj Razi picked up the loose ball and cleverly teed Mark O’Mahony to slot home for the dream start.
Despite a good spell of possession, and danger man Franco Umeh one of the outstanding performers in the last international window, looking a threat on the right wing it was the Albanians who struck next.
Talented attacking midfielder Erald Krasniqi pressed Shelbourne man, Lewis Temple, high before nicking the ball off the centre backs toe. The Heerenveen man then raced through on goal, showing great composure to scoop the ball over the onrushing Andrew Wogan to level - despite skipper Luke Browne’s best efforts to get around on the cover.
Frustrated with a sloppy concession, Ireland responded well and just after the half hour mark Vata was very unlucky to see his free-kick from distance almost catch Totoshi out at the near post, agonizingly missing the target, as the game became a scrappier affair.
Minutes later Umeh, again, burst down the right wing again showing tremendous pace, but the final ball was just at a slightly awkward height for O’Mahony who couldn’t direct goalwards.
The second half followed a similar pattern early on despite the Irish young guns trying to play at a higher tempo. The stop-start nature of proceedings only added to frustrations, whilst Lazio front man Flavio Sulejmani showed good feet to hold up play well when possible.*But just before the hour mark, the Irish were rewarded for their patience when the Umeh – Mahony combination paid off. Having been found quickly by the in-demand Naj Razi from a quick free-kick, the Crystal Palace wide man took a touch before delivering a delightful in-swinging cross with his left foot, finding the towering O’Mahony who gratefully applied the finishing touch for his second.
Ireland earned themselves a two-goal cushion just minutes later when Razi drove centrally, teeing up the marauding O’Sullivan - who made a lung bursting run down the left - before providing a deft cross onto the head of Umeh who nodded home, a goal his performance thoroughly deserved.
With nothing to lose, Albania began to pour forward to claw themselves back into the game. From a dangerous corner, the ball fell kindly to Klevis Haxhari at the back post, but the right back could only smash the near post before being cleared to safety.*
Having shown impressive resilience to weather the storm, proving defensively strong to marry well with the hugely exciting talent in the squad, Ireland saw out the game in a professional manner to set themselves up perfectly for a busy week ahead.
Now with an eye on making it to the second phase of qualifiers for a third successive time, Tom Mohan and his gifted charges face a quick turnaround as they look forward to taking on Slovenia, Saturday morning at 10.00am.*
Ireland:*Andrew Wogan; Freddie Turley (Senan Mullen*90), Luke Browne, Lewis Temple, Cory O’Sullivan; Romeo Akachukwu, Darius Lipsuic, Rocco Vata (Sean Moore*89); Naj Razi (Joe O’Brien Whitmarsh*79), Franco Umeh, Mark O’Mahony.
Albania: Klevi Totoshi; Klevis Haxhari, Ermal Meta, Ardit Nuredini (Adi Kurti, 45’), Elton Fikaj; Arlind Kurti, Jordi Jaku, Oresti Kosmallari (Kledi Marinaj*63); Dean Vranici (Devi Duro, 45’), Erald Krasniqi, Flavio Sulejmani (Luis Buzi*63).
UEFA European Under-19 Championship Fixtures
Wednesday, November 15 | Ireland MU19 3-1 Albania MU19
Saturday, November 18 | Ireland MU19 v Slovenia, Egnatia, Rrogozhine, Albania, KO 10:00
Tuesday, November 21 | Belgium MU19 v Ireland MU19, Egnatia, Rrogozhine,* Albania, KO 13:00



Ireland Category:
Under 19 Mens


Choose Site:
Ireland


Match Preview / Report:
Match Report


Match ID:
Republic of Ireland 3 - 1 Albania | 2023 - UEFA Under-19 Championship | 2037020


Introduction:
The Ireland Men's Under-19s kicked off their 2023-24 UEFA European Championship*qualifying group with a hard fought 3-1 victory against hosts Albania.




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