Levingston on the mark for the U19s

GOREY TEENAGER Conor Levingston enhanced his growing reputation even more when he scored the opening goal as the Republic of Ireland Under-19 soccer side got off to a magnificent start in the UEFA championships elite qualifying round with a 2-0 win over Italy in the Belgian town of Hamme.

The outcome left the boys in green on top of the group after the first series of games, with the host nation defeating Sweden 2-1 earlier in the day. And with one just side set to quality, it was an extremely pleasing state of affairs.

After several near misses, Ireland broke the deadlock in the 34th minute when Levingston disrupted an Italian passage of play and played a one-two with second-half penalty goalscorer Ronan Hale before steering the ball past the advancing netminder.

However, there was disappointment in the second game, as Ireland went down 3-0 to Sweden in Freethiel, Belgium, with Levingston starting again before being replaced in the 61st minute.

With the Belgians drawing 1-1 with Italy, it meant the Irish could still progress to the finals as group winners with a win over Belgium, providing the Swedes failed to beat Italy on the same day.

However, the disappointment turned to despair as, despite seeing off the hosts 1-0, Sweden won by the same score to seal top spot, with Levingston manning a midfield role for the first 51 minutes.

In other international news, Wexford town native Ethan Boyle (Finn Harps) was an unused substitute as the Under-21 international side began their 2019 UEFA championships qualifying campaign with a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Kosovo at Tallaght Stadium.

Claire O’Riordan of Wexford Youths Women has been named in the squad of head coach Colin Bell for the Republic of Ireland’s friendly against Slovakia in Tallaght Stadium on Monday, April 10, at 4 p.m.

Limerick native O’Riordan featured in the recent Cyprus Cup campaign where the side secured fourth spot, the highest-ever finish in the competition.

Meanwhile, Kevin Doyle was rewarded for his patience with a rare start for the Senior squad in the 1-0 friendly defeat to Iceland in the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday.

The Colorado Rapids striker played the full 90 minutes but didn’t get many opportunities to test the opposing defence.