Keogh captains victorious ROI U16s
CAPTAIN Seamas Keogh and his Republic of Ireland teammates retained the Victory Shield with a 2-0 win over Scotland on Friday in Bangor. This followed a late draw with Wales earlier in the week. The Grange defender and his fellow players were praised for securing a draw in that game after coming from behind twice.
Speaking after the win, Ireland U16 manager Paul Osam was proud of his player’s achievements.
“We had some targets to hit before the tournament.
“One of those goals was to have three clean sheets.
“Keeping clean sheets always gives you a chance and we kept two in three games, which was the bedrock for us winning the tournament.
“We had a game plan. Scotland are a very good side and we had to be solid defensively.
“The players sticked to the plan brilliantly. The whole game plan came together really well.
“I think there is still huge improvement in this group. We built on a little bit of structure and the results are there to be seen. The future is quite good for this team.”
Osam’s side knew a win would be enough to claim the trophy, and goals from Matt Everitt and Armstrong Oko-Flex ensured that Ireland ended the competition with seven points from three games.
Everitt’s goal came in the 39th-minute, after he was first to react to a Troy Parrott shot that was saved by Scotland goalkeeper Harry Stone. Everitt headed home after Parrott’s shot hit the post to score just before the break.
In an entertaining second-half, the win was assured in the 65th-minute by Oko-Flex. Running in from the left-wing, he exchanged a pass with Everitt, before rolling the ball into the Scottish net from the edge of the box.
In the Wales game, Ireland showed determination to claw back twice. An Armstrong Oko-Flex injury-time equaliser earned Ireland a late 2-2 draw.
Goals in either half from Matt Everitt in the 37th-minute and Oko-Flex in the second minute of added-time meant Ireland were on four points after their opening two games.
Wales took the lead through defender Jack Madeline midway through the firsthalf, and looked on course to earn their first win of the competition through a Luc Noble goal, before Oko-Flex got on the end of a free-kick and scored the valuable equaliser. Ireland had used all their substitutes and had to end the game with ten men as captain Keogh was forced off in the 74th minute with an injury.“Our underage teams are full of character. “It’s in our DNA to never give up. It was great to come back,” Osam said afterward.