KING PRAISES BRAVE EFFORT

NOEL KING last night hailed the bravery of his Republic of Ireland U21 players after they were undone by a second-half winner against 10-man Italy in Vicenza. Ireland looked every bit the side boasting three consecutive wins in their UEFA qualification campaign to date but failed to get the point they deserved, due to one lapse on 67 minutes. Substitute Vittorio Parigini was only on the pitch six minutes before controlling Federico Bernardeschi’s defence-splitting pass, holding off a challenge from Sean Long and lifting the ball beyond the advancing Danny Rogers. By then, Ireland had missed a couple of golden chances in front of the 6,000 crowd and wasted another glut of them against 10 men for the last 20 minutes. That situation developed after Fiorentina playmaker Bernardeschi was sent-off, picking up a second booking for kicking the ball away in a bid to wind down the clock at that early stage. ‘Against a top European nation, it was a fantastic performance which warranted at least a draw,’ explained King afterwards. ‘The way Italy celebrated at full-time showed how relieved they were. We’ll take the positives and try to pick up a fourth win from five next month in Lithuania.’ Jack Byrne’s 16th-minute shot, saved by Alessio Cragno, was the best opportunity of the first half, whilst Josh Cullen and Sean Kavanagh both came close as Ireland chased an equaliser.

ITALY: A Cragno; A Conti, A Romagnoli, D Rugani, N Murru; R Mandragora, D Cataldi; F Bernardeschi, G Monachello (Garritano 88), K Boateng (Calabria 75); A Cerri (Parigini 61). Scorer: Parigini 67.

IRELAND: D Rogers (Falkirk); S Long (Reading), G Rea (Southend), D Lenihan (Blackburn), J Connors (Dagenham); A Browne (Preston), J Byrne (SC Cambuur, D Connolly 86), J Cullen (West Ham); C O’Dowda (Oxford), C Wilkinson (Barnsley), S Kavanagh (Fulham, S Maguire 86).

Referee: A Agheyev (AZE).