Ireland U21s hit three in a comfortable Euro qualifier tie at Turner's Cross over San Marino
The Republic of Ireland team, back row, from left, Sinclair Armstrong, Rocco Vata, James Furlong, Josh Keeley, James Abankwah and Bosun Lawal. Front row, from left to right, Sam Curtis, Baba Adeeko, Matt Healy, Tony Springett and Andrew Moran before the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and San Marino at Turner’s Cross Stadium in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Republic of Ireland 3
San Marino 0
THE Republic of Ireland U21s marked an end to the September international window by beating San Marino 3-0 in European Championships qualifier at Turner’s Cross on Tuesday night, their second win in four days at the Cork venue after beating Turkey 3-2 on Friday night.
Celtic’s Roco Vata got two goals and Sinclair Armstrong rounded out the win midway through the second half.
This follows their dramatic 3-2 victory over Turkey in Cork last Friday, a night that saw Babajide Adeeko score an injury winner.
There was no sense of comedown while playing against the lowest ranked team in the group, as Ireland were patient and direct with their passing from the whistle.
Vata tried to set up Tony Springett with a through ball during this period of the game and Pietro Amici got to this before the winger.
That was followed by another chance for the forward, and that went just over at the Shed End in the 5th minute. Armstrong also tried something, and this was saved by the San Marino goalkeeper.
The sequence of play that broke the opposition down started with Matt Healy passing to Sinclair on the right and his cross went to the back post. Vata was in the right place to hit the roof of the net and make it 1-0 to Ireland in just the eighth minute.
Sam Curtis tried to create something with Andrew Moran once the game restarted and the midfielder was brought down inside the area by Mattia Sancisi.
The Ireland captain shouted for a penalty and the referee waved this on, while the fans roared in the stands.
The only chance of note that fell to San Marino came from Ireland trying to put something together inside their own half. Simone Santi pressed Joshua Keeley and would have scored if not for the goalkeeper’s ability to pass the ball out while under pressure.
The next time Ireland tried something, the offside flag went up after Pietro Amici stretched to stop an Armstrong header.
The striker, who made his senior debut on Sunday against the Netherlands, was determined to get his name on the score sheet. His first opportunity came from a Bosun Lawal pass and the ball was knocked out for a corner while the striker tried to create space for himself inside the area.
The proceeding corner was taken short and Vata played a quick pass to Sinclair, and he hit this just wide.
The two worked together again in the 38th minute and this passage of played ended with Sinclair seeing a glancing header go out for a goal-kick.
Healy went for goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half and this was punched out for a corner.
The set piece was taken short and the space that opened up was used by Vata to make it 2-0.
Ireland restarted the game with Sinclair hitting the side netting after 10 minutes that saw both teams enjoy equal spells in possession.
The third goal seemed to be elusive due to some last ditch defending by the San Marino back-line.
It arrived when Moran went over the top and a mix-up by the San Marino defence gave space for Armstrong to run onto the ball. All he needed was a touch and that made it 3-0 in the 65th minute.
Once that went in, the entire tempo of the game slowed down.
The crowd was lifted in injury time as Cork native Healy was named Player of the Match in front of a crowd consisting of 3,826.
The U21s will return to competitive action in October, with games on the road against Latvia and Norway.
Republic of Ireland: Joshua Keeley; James Abankwah, James Furlong, Bosun Lawal, Matthew Healy, Rocco Vata, Sinclair Armstrong, Andrew Moran, Tony Springett, Sam Curtis, Babajide Adeeko.
Subs: Zak Gilsenan for Vata (68); Aidomo Emakhu for Springett (69), Killian Philips for Adeeko (69), Edward McJannet for Healy (70), Conor Carty for Armstrong (79).
San Marino: Pietro Amici; Simone Giocondi, Mattia Sancisi, Alex Toccaceli, Giacomo Matteoni, Andrea Contadini, Samuele Zannoni, Simone Santi, Nicko Sensoli, Tommaso Famiglietti, Alessandro Giambalvo.
Subs: Nicolo Sancisi for Sensoli (59); Matteo Guidi for Giocondi (70), Nicola D’Addario for Giambalvo (71), Marco Passolini for Santi (83), Andrea Dolcini for Zannoni (83).
Referee: Antoine Paul Chiaramonti (Andorra)
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