Paul Doyle reports from the GSZ Stadium in Cyprus
Cyprus U21 0
Republic of Ireland U21 1
The Republic of Ireland U-21s sneaked an unconvincing victory over their Cypriot counterparts in Larnaca thanks to a scrambled 18th minute strike by Andy O’Brien.
Newcastle’s new centre-back reacted quickest in a crowded box to poke the ball into the net after the home-keeper, under pressure from Jason Gavin, had fumbled a James O’Connor corner.
The Cypriots protested their ‘keeper had been fouled, and their fury was enflamed even further after the 33 minutes, when the gifted Stefanos Voskaridis of PAOK Salonika burst through the heart of the Irish defence before crashing to the ground as Joe Murphy dived at his feet.The referee immediately blew his whistle, but, to the astonishment of everyone else in the stadium, it was to signal a free out.To further exasperate Voskaridis, the Romanian referee decided to book him for play-acting.
More controversy followed right at the start of the second half when the Irish defence fell apart yet again, and the imaginatively named Michael Michael tried to latch on a Georgios Kkaras through-ball.Michael clashed with Murphy as the Irish ‘keeper rushed out to intercept and the crowd demanded a penalty.This time, however, Murphy’s innocence was beyond question and the referee took no action.
Ireland, though, immediately had two chances to pull further ahead.Reddy botched the first after his hesitancy allowed his marker to recover, and the second saw Marios Ilia clear a Jason Gavin shot off the line after Foran had cleverly headed a Reid corner back across goal.Twenty minutes later, another Foran header fed Reddy, who again finished feebly from 7 yards.
Foran was replaced after 68 minutes by Liam George, and the Luton man took up where Foran left off, displaying trickery and tenacity to set up, after 76 minutes, another chance for Reddy to mis-head.Four minutes later, more sweet play by George sent substitute Alan Quinn racing clear on goal, but he scuffed a low shot straight at ‘keeper Chrysostomou.
Despite their modest reputation, the Cypriots revealed themselves to be talented players and posed serious danger on the break.Indeed, they could have snatched the lead after just 3 minutes when the ubiquitous Voskaridis zipped behind O’Brien and was bundled over by John O’Shea.From the free-kick, centre-half Elias Charalambous fired a tremendous drive towards the top-corner, but Joe Murphy produced a splendid save to tip the ball around the post.
Ireland’s first bright moment came in the seventh minute when Shelbourne’s Richie Foran used his renowned strength to rob Christos Theofilou in midfield and quickly knock the ball on to Michael Reddy.The Sunderland striker, currently on loan at Swindon where he’s scoring regularly,then scorched past two Cypriot defenders into the box, but his final shot was too tame to inconvenience the ‘keeper.
Foran, making his debut for the U-21s after manager Don Givens finally deigned to overlook his disciplinary problems,has been very impressive. His sharpness and strength, combined with the speed of Michael Reddy, sowed panic in the home defence on several occasions.
In the dying minutes of the first half, Murphy again had to be at his best to block an attempted lob from Charalambous, who had once again surged free of the Irish defenders.Milwall’s Stephen Reid then forced the Cypriot ‘keeper to perform a similar feat when he rocketed a free-kick at him from 25 yards.
Don Givens will no doubt be satisfied with his second win of this current campaign, but shaky defensive work and limp finishing mean he’ll leave Larnaca with plenty of junk-food for thought.
Cyprus U21:Chrisostomou, Michael, Charalambous, Theofilou, Ilia, Kkaras, Voskaridis, Charalampidis, Garpozis, Konstantinou, Kavazis. Subs: Agapiou, Kkezou, Christou, Sampson, Kyriacou, Nikolaou, Louka.
Rep of Ireland U21:Joe Murphy, Gavin, O'Shea, Andrew O'Brien, Clarke, Healy, James O'Connor, Barry Quinn, Reid, Foran, Reddy. Subs: Dean Delaney, Alan Quinn, George, McGrath, Byrne, Foy, Thompson. Referee: D Tudor (Romania)