FAI: REPORT | U21 | Late goal denies famous win

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Following a fairly even start to the clash, it was Aidomo Emakhu who went close early on. Beating the offside trap from Sean Roughan’s ball out to the right-hand side, the ex-Shamrock Rovers man cut inside before smashing the ball high across goal to fire an early warning to the visitors.
Defending resolutely against a quality Italian attack that included Pio Esposito, currently at Spezia - on-loan from Inter Milan - and Leeds United star Wilfried Gnonto, the well-orchestrated Irish high press was working yet again, with dynamic duo of Emakhu and Sinclair Armstrong causing all sorts of problems with their pace and movement.
Just after the half hour mark, Ireland got the breakthrough their brilliant start deserved. Following some smart build up play, the ball found its way to Armstrong on the left who burst past his marker before drilling the ball low across goal. Although the unmarked St. Patrick’s Athletic man Sam Curtis fluffed his lines slightly at the back post, the ball fell kindly to the immense Killian Phillips who smashed the ball low into the bottom corner.*
In the ascendancy, and the boisterous crowd behind them, the Boys in Green didn’t look to rest on their laurels and just minutes before the break saw skipper Anselmo Garcia-MacNulty narrowly miss the foot of the post with a header.
On the stroke of half-time, and very much against the run of play, the visitors levelled when Bosun Lawal was harshly adjudged to have handled the ball following Gnonto’s deflected shot from the left wing. The referee had no doubt, and Gnonto himself stepped up making no mistake from 12 yards.
Undeterred from the concession, the hosts got themselves back in front after a lightning-fast start to the second half, thanks to an instinctive striker’s finish.*Armstrong was in the right place at the right time to finish from close range, having seen Sean Grehan’s initial cross evade everyone and come back off the post and fall kindly to his feet.
Ireland continued to pour forward, looking dangerous as they found some good space down the left-hand channel and this avenue almost paid dividends in similar fashion to the opener. Armstrong again showed great pace to get to the endline before crossing low but unfortunately this time there was nobody on hand to apply the finishing touches.
With so much quality on show a reaction was expected from the visitors but when called upon, the reliable goalkeeper Josh Keeley stood big to deny Bologna midfielder Giovanni Fabbian, who found a yard of space in the area.
Into the final 10 minutes, Ireland were desperately unlucky not to add to their tally when Emakhu showed great feet to twist and turned his way in from the left. Doing everything right, the tireless 20-year-old tried to bend the ball low into the far corner but Sebastiano Desplanches got down well to push the ball away from the awaiting Arsmtrong who was on the hunt for his second.
Ireland survived a terrifying late scare when Gnonto saw his low drive from the edge of the area strike the inside of the post before rebounding to Mattia Zanotti - who thought the had equalised - only for Keely to show incredible athleticism and cat-like reflexes to get back up and around to grab the ball on the line at the very last second.
But Irish hearts were broken with practically the last touch of the game when that man Gnonto forced the ball in via a deflection off the unlucky Matt Healy. It was a cruel blow as Ireland deserved to win this one but they remain very much in contention in this group, sitting just one point behind leaders Italy.
Ireland:*Josh Keeley; Bosun Lawal, Anselmo Garcia-McNulty, Sean Grehan; Sam Curtis, Baba Adeeko, Matt Healy, Killian Phillips, Sean Roughan (Tayo Adaramola*90+1); Sinclair Armstrong (Johnny Kenny*82), Aidomo Emakhu (Adam Murphy 90+3).
Italy:*Sebastiano Desplanches; Mattia Zanotti, Diego Coppola, Lorenzo Pirola, Riccardo Calafiori (Riccardo Turricchia*83); Edoardo Bove, Matteo Prati, Giovanni Fabbian, Cher N’Dour (Luca Koleosho*56); Pio Esposito, Wilfried Gnonto.
Referee:*Lionel Tschudi (Switzerland).



Ireland Category:
Under 21 Mens


Choose Site:
Ireland


Match Preview / Report:
Match Report


Match ID:
Republic of Ireland 2 - 2 Italy | 2023 - UEFA U21 Championship | 2037273


Introduction:
The Ireland Men's Under-21s were forced to share the spoils with Italy in a 2-2 draw in front of 6,157 spectators at Turner's Cross in what was a thrilling game.




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