Republic of Ireland 3 Scotland 1
REPUBLIC of Ireland Schools international side recorded an impressive 3-1 victory over Scotland in the Centenary Shield at Tallaght tonight (April 2014) to end their season on a high note:
The Irish recorded their second victory of the campaign with a victory that ultimately cost their rivals the title: England ended up as group winners with 8 points, Republic of Ireland finished on 7 points:
Yeats College striker Ryan Manning was the key player for the home side with a double while Limerick FC's Val Feeney also found the net in an exciting game:
Manning had hit the crossbar with a clever over/head in the 25th minute then opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 36th minute after defender James Yates dragged down Derry City's George Kelly in the area:
Irish skipper Manning then forced a decent save from Scottish keeper Christopher Truesdale with a shot from distance in the 38th minute:
It was Yeat's College striker Manning who threatened again four minutes into the second half but a defender made an important block:
The visitors snatched an equaliser in the 58th minute when Jamie Henry sent in a low free/kick that was deflected into the Irish net by the unfortunate Cian Kavanagh:
Michael Hardie forced a top drawer saved from home keeper Jack Brady (St: Anne's CC, Killaloe) less than a minute later as the Scots poured on the pressure:
The Irish eventually weathered the storm and Cork City midfielder Craig Donnellan fired in a powerful low strike in the 61st minute that Truesdale got down well to keep out:
Ireland regained the lead in the 64th minute when a short corner found its way to Feeney: He produced a clever move to beat a defender then smashed a shot towards goal that was deflected past the unfortunate Truesdale:
Manning made it 3/1 in the 73rd minute with a fantastic individual goal: The striker powerfully carved through the visiting defence but his strike rattled the Scots crossbar and he was the first to react to the loose ball and fired home brilliantly:
The impressive Hardie drew another top drawer save from Brady in the 78th minute with a free/kick from distance but that was as close either side came to producing another goal:
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Dunican, Flanagan, D Kavanagh, Boylan, Gannon, Donnellan, Feeney, C Kavanagh, McGrath, Kelly, Manning:
Subs: Brown for McGrath 11 mins; Brady for Dunican h/t, McAuley for C Kavanagh 73; O'Laoi for D Kavanagh 76; Power for Manning 84: