European U-21 Championship qualifier: Ireland 1, Andorra 0
Michael Noonan (right) celebrates with teammate Trent Kone-Doherty after scoring for Ireland during the European U21 Championship qualifier against Andorra at Tallaght Stadium. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
On a night when the Irish senior team suffered a disastrous result to a bottom-seeded side, for 65 minutes this threatened to be a similar result for the Ireland U-21s. But Michael Noonan had other ideas.
Jim Crawford’s men found themselves struggling to break down the minnows for much of the first hour of this Tallaght Stadium clash, but just one minute after entering a pitch he knows well, the teenager blasted the young Boys in Green ahead with a fabulous strike from 25 yards, relieving all of the tension.