Ireland overcame a stubborn Andorra side to ensure the Irish international window finished on a high on Tuesday night as Jim Crawford’s men made it two wins from two in their Uefa U21 Championship qualifying group.
Substitute Michael Noonan’s record-breaking second-half goal proved enough to keep the 100% record intact.
Having shown a grittier and determined performance to come from behind in Moldova, Crawford’s men were hoping for a more straightforward night in Tallaght. It was anything but, as they were forced to show patience right throughout a tricky night.
Coming up against a side that included three players that battled bravely for their senior side against England in their 2-0 defeat on Saturday made for a trickier challenge than many expected.
The hosts were unlucky not to get the dream start after just a couple of minutes when Jad Hakiki picked up the ball on the right and slipped in a perfectly weighted ball for Rocco Vata who found himself through on goal, opting to try to go across Andorra stopper Marc De Castro who, to his immense credit, pulled off a stunning low save.
The visitors, with every man in their own half as soon as the ball was turned over, settled in their shape and showed flashes of their technical ability. Attacking midfielder Jan Guma stung the palms of Noah Jauny on a couple of occasions to serve as a reminder they weren’t in Tallaght to make up the numbers.
The longer the stop-start game went on, the more flashbacks of that costly draw against Latvia nearly a year earlier — a hammer blow in their last qualifying campaign — began to creep in.
Trent Kone-Doherty takes on Marc Rodriguez. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Harry Vaughan was unable to shake off an awkward shoulder injury as the exciting Liverpool attacker Trent Kone-Doherty was introduced for his U21s debut at the break, as the Boys in Green looked to inject some urgency.
With Kone-Doherty out left and Rocco Vata operating more centrally, closer to Friday’s two-goal hero Mason Melia, Ireland looked to pick up any space amid the sea of red.
Minutes into the half, they went close when former Bohemians man Jamie Mullins smashed a low drive that was just too central as De Castro got down sharply. But it was a case of cometh the hour cometh the boy when hometown hero Noonan (17 years, one month, nine days) made a crucial impact just one minute after his introduction, beating fellow striker Melia’s record (17 years, six months, two days), set against Hungary in March, to become the youngest ever goalscorer at U21 level.
Having raced onto the pitch replacing the more defensive minded Cathal McCarthy, the 17-year-old was found by Kone-Doherty after a lightning break from the winger. Instead of choosing the overlapping Hakiki, Noonan took it upon himself to cut inside onto his left foot and unleashed an unstoppable strike from just outside the area.
Still on a knife edge and just as the clock ticked over the 90-minute mark, the visitors spurned a gilt edged chance to level as skipper Gerard Sola somehow missed the target from just a few yards out with the goal at his mercy.
But the final whistle brought about a huge sigh of relief as Ireland clinched what could be a huge three points come the end of qualifying.
IRELAND: N Jauny; A Murphy, S Grehan, J Abankwah, J Devaney; J Mullins, C McCarthy (M Noonan, 65’), H Vaughan (T Kone-Doherty, 46’), J Hakiki (D Lipsiuc, 78’); R Vata, M Melia (A Murphy, 78’).
Subs not used: A Wogan, J Slater, M O’Mahony, D Okagbue, R Akachukwu.
ANDORRA: M De Castro; M Rodriguez (G Acosta, 82’), B Borra, I Olivera, A Cornella (D De Sa, 82’), J Guma; A Rodrigo, O Remolins, H Ferreira (M Torne, 90’), N Boutarfas (Y Santaella, 75’); G Sola.
Subs not used: A Cornella Molins, P Simonet, D De Lima, A Solanes, P Silva.
Referee: H Ziskason Viðoy (Fro).