Nice one. Beat Bahrain and we are in the semi finals.
(that's right isn't it? We'd be on 7pts and either top the group or be the only 2nd place team with 7pts)
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Nice one. Beat Bahrain and we are in the semi finals.
(that's right isn't it? We'd be on 7pts and either top the group or be the only 2nd place team with 7pts)
0-0 ,Good result for us.
Also hadn't realised there was only three groups...Quote:
Originally Posted by joe_denilson
So yeah, I think you're right, and a draw (or a win of course) was not just nice, but required.
China will give Mexico a good game............I hope.
Been delighted to see Masterson look so dominant hopefully this exposure will help him get club . He has so much physical development left which can only benefit him
Very composed performance. Kelleher was very good. A hugely improved performance from him.
Masterson and O'Shea were dominant at centre half.
A very good Mexican side that too. Pressed them hard and gave them no time or space on the ball.
Very impressed.
Big preseason coming up for so many of the side. None of them playing at first team level for their clubs apart from leahy. Even o shea who has the most appearances at senior level in league 2 and conference will have big step up to be first choice at west brom
They're a pleasure to watch, very confident.
I'd expect Connolly and Molumby to get a shot this season under Potter at Brighton. Otherwise either could do well on loan in the Championship or in Scotland.
Kelleher and Coventry should go on loan next season as they won't be getting games in the Premier League. Same for Idah and O'Connor, although Idah's younger so another season in PL2 might be OK for him.
Ronan seems like the kind of player that doesn't suit lower league football, could see him going to somewhere like the Eredivisie like Crowley as it will be hard for him to get a look in at Wolves.
O'Shea and Knight should have a decent shot at breaking into their club first elevens as they're both in the championship.
Masterson needs games badly as well, but he seems like too much of a footballing centre back to go to somewhere like League 1. Maybe a championship team will pick him up but it would be good if the exposure he's getting in this tournament won him a move to continental Europe - that could be the making of him.
Those 10 all have a decent shot of making it as full time pros. Chances are half of them won't in the end but its definitely one of the most talented Irish underage squads I've seen, even going back to the Brian Kerr days at under 16 and under 18 level.
Elbouzedi is first choice at Waterford too.Quote:
Originally Posted by liamoo11
Simon Power also has first team football under his belt, as does Connor Ronan.
It is a big pre-season ahead for the foreign based lads though. The likes of Masterson should pick up a League One or Championship side handy enough if he chooses to stay in England. Otherwise, the rest of the season at someone like Shamrock Rovers or Dundalk would do him no harm.
Kelleher could look to a League One loan move too.
If Norwich didn't get promoted, we could have seen Idah getting a few Championship appearances this season, but they might not rush him through in the Premier League.
Yeah, I think I've mentioned in this thread or another that Connolly and Molumby could benefit from Potter being the new manager there. They certainly look good enough to make it at top tier football in the future, as far as I'm concerned.
Great squad. Exciting times. This is the first exciting year of many at club level for our underage sides.
Off The Ball AM referenced some story today linking Nathan Collins with Borussia Dortmund, as well as Manchester United. Let the good times roll.
Kenny interviews after the game
Not that it's in any way relevant... but he is no Roberto Martinez on the interview frontQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Hopefully he is no Martinez on the defensive side of football as well .Quote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
He misjudged that free kick that hit the crossbar pretty badly I thought, should have been able to easily touch it over. He held that cross at the end very well though as it was coming at pace. Over the two games I'd have to say I was disappointed with him as he didn't have much to do but still had three or four errors.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
So it looks odds-on to be Japan, Brazil, Ireland & Mexico making up the semi finals. We would be the only non-U22 team to make it through.
Brazil's results have been impressive but it should be noted that it was the France U18's they beat 4-0. The commentator pointed out yesterday that they have eight different goalscorers from their two 4-0 wins.
The scoreline of the tournament was Japan beating Chile 6-1 (Chile beat Portugal who beat England). I'm not sure if it's h2h or GD that determine the placings of teams level on points. If it's the former, Portugal would still have a decent chance of making the semi finals instead of Japan. We'll know this evening.
Hard to know there. That was a wicked strike of the ball. Could have easily caught out some of the most experienced goalkeepers out there.Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
Portugal beat Japan 1-0 with a late goal. However, if the commentator was correct, Japan stay top of the group on goal difference and will win the group.
Team out: kelleher, o’connor, leahy, o’shea, scales, Knight, elbouzedi, Molumby, Ronan, Barrett, Connolly.
Hopefully means connolly in more advanced position with Idah not starting
He seems to be fairly central so far, but not in the box
Idah on now for injured Elbouzedi, presumably Connolly reverts to wide role
Crucial breakthrough deflected free kick from Ronan. Need second now for comfort
Not a great penalty from Molumby, struck well, but an easy height for the keeper
After Idahs two well-taken penalties vs China....Molumby showed balls stepping up as captain taking it, he had to score it. That was bad....can’t understand why Idah didn’t take it
Not sure why Molumby took it when Idah was on the pitch. Ronan and Barrett did very well to win the penalty.
As with pretty much every u21 game for Kenny, Ronan has looked a really bright spark so far today.
With Idah not starting Molumby had probably been put on penalties before kick off. Idah clearly a much better penalty taker though. Barrett should have finished the rebound, he has looked quite slow in general for a guy playing wide left.
Bahrain seemed to be tiring by the end of the half, a lot of lazy tackles and fouls. If we keep the intensity up we should be OK here.
Bahrain controlling things and creating chances since half time. Concerning
Referee has made this difficult for us. Ronan had a perfectly good goal disallowed.
Every time we attack, there’s either a free or penalty not given to us, or a free given out against us...
Hasn’t been a good performance by any means but the officials have certainly played a part
Their keeper almost comically throwing himself on the ground when he bumped Connolly from a corner and then getting a free kick is perfect example of how poor officials have been hereQuote:
Originally Posted by elatedscum
The sarcastic cheering from the small Irish crowd when a Bahrain player was finally booked said it all about that half I think. The combination of a terrible pitch, the over physicality of the Bahrain team and some ridiculous referee and linesman decisions turned the whole thing into a bit of a shambles in the end.
Connolly was probably the best Irish player again, Ronan was also very good and Coventry had a strong second half off the bench. Liam Scales performance was probably the best one from a home based player over the three games, I didn't really notice any drop off in standard from Masterson in the last two games to Scales today.
Hopefully only winning by one doesn't cost us the group win, it would be good to avoid Brazil in the semis.
Fantastic achievement.
Ronan and Connolly come out of this tournament so far as surely being on Mick's radar. August and September are interesting months for them at club level that will be the platform for a call-up come October surely.
Agree on Scales, my first time seeing him but was impressive. Distribution and awareness good. Would be great if he got a move abroad this summer to see if he can make it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
For me: Kelleher, Molumby, Connolly and Ronan remain the standouts and most likely to make it at a reasonably high level. Ronan has such a touch of class about him, if he doesn’t play prem this year needs to play on continent, his skills won’t be appreciated in English lower tiers. Idah did better today, some terrible decisions against him when he used his body well. Needs a good loan move next season to continue his development. Coventry and O’Connor also did well. O’Shea exposed badly in second half on one occasion with a simple turn of direction, but other than that did well. Looking forward to semi finals and the preseason ahead for many of these players
I think Mexico would need to win by 3 goals to overtake - we've scored five and conceded 1, think they've scored 2 and conceded none.
If it finished as is, i.e China 0-0 Mexico, I assume it'd be Brazil(1st seed) v Portugal (4th seed), Japan(3rd seed) v Ireland(2nd seed). I can only see a Mexico win by 3 goals resulting in is playing Brazil next, assuming that's how the draw works.
Edit Mexico have scored. Change that to Brazil v Mexico. Ireland v Japan.
Nope, don't know how they draw worked. We play Brazil. 2nd in group get easier draw. Strange.
The two highest ranked qualifiers play each other in the semi finals. Makes no sense. Will be virtually impossible against their Under 22s you would think. 14 of their players are 21 or 22 according to Wikipedia.
Yes it will be tough. That’s pretty much their Olympic team barring 3 or 4 players, there were 2 not released by Athletico Paranaense due to the Recopa. Fantastic opportunity for the young Irish players all the same
It's the kind of tournament where you'd imagine our boys would relish the test of such a country.
Looking forward to the Brazil game. Should be a real test. There's been some really promising performances. I only caught the first 25 mins of the Bahrain game but it was a similar pattern to the others. The players will definitely be well up for it although the lads who have played all 3 games might be getting a bit fatigued, it's a high temp game they play, in pretty extreme heat and on fairly bumpy looking pitches. For me the weakest area has been the full backs, they've been OK, but seem to lack that bit of real pace and quality that the top level full backs need.