U21 VS Holland, Wednesday 6th 2012

[Charlie Darwin]

David Meyler too. Our underage teams have definitely lost some of the granny rule flavour they've had over the past decade or so, which goes to show we are producing good players in this country. Perhaps we are producing fewer top quality players, but we are producing good players in higher numbers, and we have managers who are more willing to give them a chance than before.

[IsMiseSean]

Anyone know anything about a kid playing for Molde in Norway Sean Patrick Cunningham?
USA born and has played for their U20 side, but with a name like that surely has some Irish connection?

Sean Cunningham

[Olé Olé]

David Meyler too. Our underage teams have definitely lost some of the granny rule flavour they've had over the past decade or so, which goes to show we are producing good players in this country. Perhaps we are producing fewer top quality players, but we are producing good players in higher numbers, and we have managers who are more willing to give them a chance than before.

Look at Tommie Hoban with the under 19's. The lad has referred to the fact that he would not feel right playing for England, even though he looks a cracking prospect and potentially as good, if not better, than someone like Michael Keane. His blood is 100% Irish with an Irish mother and father born to Irish parents (if not Irish-born). Ciaran Clark's story pretty much replicates this.

Michael Keane's qualification for us was far from granny-rule stuff, it was his Dub father coaxing him into playing for us, so the links are becoming less abstract since the days of Charlton. McGeady and McCarthy are two of the best prospects the Scottish game has seen in the past 10 years and they've chosen to play for Ireland, rather than it being a situation that they play for us by default i.e. not good enough to be selected for the country of their birth.

We are producing less Duff's, Keane's (X2) and maybe it was in England that our next Dunne was born (Clark/Hoban), but there is quite a large player pool at our disposal and we can comfortably field a team of exclusively Premier League players. While McGeady hasn't taken over from Duff and Long and Doyle don't quite look coming close to Robbie Keane's, it's more by chance than anything else that Keane and Duff came on the scene at the same time and are of a similar age.

This under-21 squad looks solid, whilst not spectacular. But there looks a strong player pool there and a strong core of young lads playing regular football at Championship level, which was not always the case with our under-age sides, as past analysis of squads and the subsequent development of the players has shown.

[TrapAPony]

Proud McGinty so happy to receive Ireland’s call once more

Wednesday, February 06, 2013
By John Fallon
This afternoon’s U21 friendly against Holland at Tallaght Stadium (1pm) offers new beginnings for many Irish youngsters and Sean McGinty appreciates the chance presented to him by Noel King.
For the Manchester United defender, his early days of international football brought a captaincy and player of the year award, but that changed in 2011.

Just as Paul Doolin’s reign as U19 manager gained momentum, McGinty was cut adrift while his team-mates surged towards the European Championships in Romania. His absence was barely noticed as Ireland reached the semi-finals, the first team from these shores on that stage for nine years.

Apart from one further call-up for a friendly in Slovenia later that year, McGinty didn’t figure under Doolin again last season, even for the Uefa qualifiers.

Being isolated from the Irish set-up provoked speculation of him following the lead of United clubmate Michael Keane by switching his allegiance to England. But, replete with a new contract from United, the 19-year-old is thrilled to be back on the international stage with the U21s this week.

“I’m grateful to Noel King for the call-up and I’m pleased to be back involved,” he said. “I’m not sure why Paul Doolin dropped Shane Duffy and myself from the U19 squad after the first set of qualifiers but I was gutted not to be involved with the lads going to those European finals.

“I was Irish captain for three years and, just because manager mightn’t like me as a footballer or person, it doesn’t mean I’d switch teams [to England].

“England didn’t approach me and I don’t think I’d ever switch. Even when I was out of the squad, my Dad reminded that it was Ireland who gave me my break at international level. It was from playing for Ireland that helped get me the move to Manchester United from Charlton Athletic.”

He added: “I’ve just returned to United from a loan spell at Carlisle United and was delighted to get a contract extension from the gaffer [Alex Ferguson].

“I’m training every day with some of the best players in the world like Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. I’m going in there every day with a smile on my face and the plan is to try follow the likes of Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck and Jonny Evans from the ranks into the first team.”

The withdrawal from the squad of Derby County’s defender Mark O’Brien means McGinty is likely to start in the back-four against the Dutch.

This friendly, followed with another against Portugal in Cork on March 25, will form the preparation for the 2015 Uefa qualifiers which begin for Ireland with a trip to the Faroe Islands in August.

IRELAND (probable): A. McCarey (Wolves); M. Doherty (Wolves), S. Duffy (Everton) capt, D. Williams (Aston Villa), S. McGinty (Manchester United); C. Reilly (Birmingham City), K. Ferdinand (Peterborough Utd), S. Carruthers (Aston Villa); S. Murray (Watford), A. O’Brien (Millwall), A. Forde (Wolves).

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/s...re-221847.html

[Keen2win]

How much is it in?

[Charlie Darwin]

I'm guessing it won't be shown anywhere on TV?

[Charlie Darwin]

Ireland 1-0 up through Mark O'Brien.

edit: Aiden O'Brien

[Dodge]

2-0, O'brien again. Ferdinand went off for O'Sullivan

[Charlie Darwin]

2-0, O'Brien with his second.

[TrapAPony]

2-0, O'brien again. Ferdinand went off for O'Sullivan

Where are you following it?

[Charlie Darwin]

Emmet Malone on twitter is providing updates: http://www.twitter.com/emmetmalone

[Dodge]

Various Irish journos and friends at the game on twitter

[tetsujin1979]

extratime.ie are doing a live match tracker here: http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/107/2015/18807/1/

[Charlie Darwin]

3-0 now, penalty from Forde. Surprised O'Brien wasn't given the chance to seal his hat trick.

[tetsujin1979]

3-0 now, penalty from Forde. Surprised O'Brien wasn't given the chance to seal his hat trick.

O'Brien was taken off injured before the penalty

[Charlie Darwin]

Finished 3-0. Could have scored a few more by all accounts.

[DeLorean]

Ireland 1-0 up through Mark O'Brien.

edit: Aiden O'Brien

Speaking of which, why was he not involved?

[tricky_colour]

So how does that rate as a result? Are Holland's U21 rubbish or do we face a bright future?

[Charlie Darwin]

They topped their qualifying group for the Euros so they're a pretty big deal.

[TrapAPony]

Supposedly it was more or less a Dutch B team