Reilly captains U15s in Poland
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND POLAND 1 0
SLIGO has produced yet another underage International captain in the form of Sligo Rovers starlet Darragh Reilly, who led the Republic of Ireland U-15s in a goalfilled match away to Poland on Thursday last. This was preceded by an impressive 1-0-win Tuesday the 20th of November, against the same opposition.
In what was a closer game than the score line suggests, striker Michael Leddy scored twice to draw the sides level after a brace from Polish forward Marcin Barton put the home side two goals to the good in the first half. The deadlock did not hold, however, as Krzysztof Babs fired Poland in the lead for the third time in the 53rd minute of action.
There was no answer this time however, as Poland converted from the penalty spot through Tomasz Pienko, giving Poland the cushion they would need to close the rest of the game out, winning 4-2.
Speaking afterward, head coach Jason Donohue was optimistic after the match reflecting on the spate of fixtures as an opportunity for the players to make their international debut. Donohue, who counts Sligo man Paul Masterson among his backroom team, said: “We’ve given 18 players their international debut this week, and all of them starting for their country.
“We’ve educated the players over the past week. It’s a huge stepping stone for these players in their career.” With two international caps now under his belt, and one win to boot, the future is bright for the latest product of the Yeats County soccer scene.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Aaron Mannix; Craig King (Tommy Fogarty 60), Aaron O’Reilly, Darragh Reilly (captain) (Evan Ferguson 60), John Ryan; Luke McGlynn (Glory Nzingo 52), Ben Curtis (Jamie Mullins 60), John Joe Power; Conor Campbell (Sean Fitzpatrick 60), Michael Leddy, Cian Kelly (Ben Quinn 52).