The 42

Republic of Ireland U21 1

Andorra U21 0

Darryl Geraghty reports from Tallaght Stadium

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U21s made it two wins from their opening two games in the European Championship qualifying as substitute Michael Noonan’s record-breaking goal proved enough to keep the 100% record intact.

After a gritty and determined performance to come from behind in Moldova, Jim Crawford’s men were hoping for a more straightforward night in Tallaght. It was anything but.

Coming up against an Andorra side that included three players that battled bravely for their senior team against England in a 2-0 defeat on Saturday made for a trickier challenge than many expected.

Noonan, the 17-year-old Shamrock Rovers striker who was on familiar territory, was sprung from the bench in the second half and scored within a minute to become the youngest scorer for the U21s.

It held even more significance given it was the only goal of the game.

The hosts were unlucky not to get the dream start after just a couple of minutes when the versatile Jad Hakiki picked up the ball on the right. Standing up his defender, the Sligo Rovers man slipped in a perfectly weighted ball for the underlapping Rocco Vata who found himself through on goal.

He opted 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.

But the longer the stop-start game went on, the more flashbacks of that costly draw against Latvia almost a year previously, that proved a hammer blow in their last qualifying campaign, began to creep in.

Harry Vaughan was unable to shake off an awkward looking shoulder injury as the exciting Liverpool attacker Trent Kone-Doherty was introduced for his debut at the break, as the young Boys in Green looked to inject some urgency into proceedings.

With Kone-Doherty out left and Vata operating more centrally, closer to Friday’s two-goal hero  Mason Melia, Ireland looked to pick up any space amidst the sea of red.

As Ireland probed, manager Jim Crawford’s subs paid off when Noonan made a crucial impact just one-minute after his introduction to beat Melia’s record as the country’s youngest ever scorer at this level.

Having raced onto the pitch replacing the more defensive minded Cathal McCarthy, the 17-year-old was found by Kone-Doherty after a sharp 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.

With the pressure finally off Ireland forced a couple of more chances to double their lead, the clearest of which fell to Grehan, found by Alex Murphy’s free kick, but unfortunately for the big centre back found the ball stuck under his feet at the crucial moment.

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 at the near post with the goal at his mercy.

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.

Republic of Ireland: Noah Jauny; Alex Murphy, Sean Grehan, James Abankwah, Jacob Devaney; Jamie Mullins, Cathal McCarthy (Michael Noonan, 65’), Harry Vaughan (Trent Kone-Doherty, 46’), Jad Hakiki (Darius Lipsiuc, 78’); Rocco Vata, Mason Melia (Adam Murphy, 78’).

Andorra: Marc De Castro; Marc Rodriguez (Guillem Acosta, 82’), Biel Borra, Ian Olivera, Alex Cornella (Daniel De Sa, 82’), Jan Guma; Aron Rodrigo, Ot Remolins, Hugo Ferreira (Marc Torne, 90’), Nil Boutarfas (Yedid Santaella, 75’); Gerard Sola.

Referee: Heini Ziskason Viðoy (FRO)

Written by Darryl Geraghty and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.