The Republic of Ireland’s qualifying hopes for the European Under-21 Championship came to a disappointing end after they drew with Italy in Trieste on Tuesday evening. With Italy’s Cesare Casadei scoring an initial goal, Ireland’s lead was wiped out by Captain Andy Moran’s strike during second half. However, they weren’t able to secure another winning goal to lead the group.
Following the draw, Ireland ended up finishing third given their earlier records against Norway, which included a defeat and a draw. Norway managed to clinch a playoff spot by comfortably defeating Turkey 5-1.
Ireland’s performance will likely be evaluated considering the important points they dropped in previous matches against Italy and Latvia on home turf, and Norway, both home and away. It’s noteworthy to mention that Ireland had priorly led in the four aforementioned games but conceded equalisers during injury time on two occasions.
For Tuesday’s match, coach Jim Crawford made a few alterations to the squad that drew against Norway previously on Friday. He introduced Wigan’s Baba Adeeko to the midfield and Sinclair Armstrong from Bristol City, who was out due to suspension, resumed his forward position.
Despite nearly dominating the initial stages of the match and having multiple opportunities to score, Ireland weren’t able to convert the chances into goals. More frustratingly, Italy ended up securing the initial lead thanks to Juventus rising star Nicoló Savona, in what was a compelling counterattack. Unfortunately, the news of Norway cruising to lead against Turkey only added to Ireland’s frustration.
In a do-or-die scenario for Ireland, the host team found motivation in their recent success. Italy’s Gnonto’s thunderous strike was pushed onto the crossbar by Tiernan Brooks, while Tommaso Baldanzi didn’t manage to direct a free-kick on target.
It seemed that defeat was inevitable for Ireland when Anselmo Garcia MacNulty’s awkward challenge on Roma’s player, Baldanzi – who’s worth €10 million – led to a penalty. However, Gnonto, who took the penalty, sent the ball soaring into the spectators, before appearing to criticise the condition of the Trieste pitch.
Before the game, Crawford hinted at possible changes during the half-time break. He decided to swap his wingbacks, Sean Roughan and Sam Curtis, for Tayo Adaramola and Connor O’Brien, the latter making his first performance in a competitive match.
Moreover, the addition of Aidomo Emakhu around the 60-minute mark brought new energy to the Irish side. Not long after being cautioned, the Millwall player’s determination paved the way for the equalising goal. He got the better of his marker and sent a precise low cross to Moran, who connected brilliantly to score.
Armstrong led the refreshed Irish pursuit for a lead but failed to properly connect with the subsequent opportunity. He passed to Emakhu, whose efforts were thwarted by an audacious tackle from Mattia Zanotti, leaving the fullback needing medical attention.
With only four minutes left, a fantastic diving save from Brooks prevented a Ghilardi shot that seemed bound for the bottom corner.
Despite entering seven minutes of added time, Ireland continued to show resilience. A shot from Emakhu was diverted by Desplanches, and a strike from James Abankwah was blocked.
However, in spite of their need, the late dramatic breakthrough Ireland was hoping for didn’t materialise.
For Italy, they lined up with S Desplanches, N Savona, D Ghilardi, N Bertola, M Zanotti – replaced by R Turicchia in the 76th minute, C Casadei, M Prati, C Ndour, T Baldanzi – swapped for G Bonfanti in the 89th, W Gnonto – switched for L Koleosho in the 76th, and P Esposito – replaced by G Fabbian in the 54th.
In the Republic of Ireland’s match, the squad had T Brooks, S Curtis who was replaced by C O’Brien at the start of the second half, E Adegboyega, J Abankwah, A Garcia MacNulty, and S Roughan who made way for T Adaramola also at the 46th minute. They were assisted by B Adeeko who was substituted by M O’Mahony in the 81st minute, M Healy, A Moran along with J Kenny who made his exit for A Emakhu in the 59th minute, and S Armstrong. The match was overseen by referee A Ladebäck hailing from Sweden.