Rep of Ireland U21 0 - 3 Turkey U21
Credit:
Ireland’s opening game of their qualification campaign for the 2011 European Championships got off to a poor start, ending in a 3-0 defeat to number one seed Turkey.
First-half goals from Deniz Yilmaz and Emre Ozkan and a late goal from Omer Sismanoglu put an early dent in the Irish team’s qualification aspirations and despite having some chances, the away side were the better of the two sides.
The Turkish team were lightning quick on the break and overall, they were good value for the win. Don Givens’ side played enterprising football at times, with some intricate flowing moves but the Turkish always looked the more convincing.
Aydin Yilmaz was the star of the show. His quick turn of pace terrorised Ian Bermingham - who had only been drafted in 24 hours previous to replace Seamus Coleman - throughout and the Irish never managed to cope with the tricky Galatasaray winger.
The first chance of the game fell to Ireland’s Stephen Gleeson, who shot over in the sixth minute after some good build-up play involving Ian Bermingham and Jay O’Shea as the Irish started brightly.
Turkey took the lead in the 14th minute though, after a poor error from Eddie Nolan. The defender mis-judged a header back to goalkeeper Shane Redmond and Deniz Yilmaz was alert enough to poke the ball past the advancing Redmond to make it 1-0 to the away side.
Alan Judge forced Volkan Babacan into making a decent save with 20 minutes gone after Dave Meyler played in an excellent ball to Ian Bermingham.
Owen Garvan put the ball on a plate for Cillian Sheridan just a couple of minutes later, however, the Celtic striker headed narrowly wide from 6 yards as the Irish tried hard to find an equaliser.
Turkey should have made it 2-0 on the half hour mark when Emre Ozkan failed to connect with an incoming Aydin Yilmaz cross, despite being left unmarked at the back-post.
Emre Ozkan did manage to double the lead in the 40th minute, although there was some doubt whether Aykut Demir handled the ball in the build-up. With strong protests from the Irish, Ozkan was left space to turn before shooting into the net from just six yards to the delight of the sizeable travelling support.
The Irish changed to a more attack minded 4-3-3 after the break, with James McCarthy replacing David Meyler. The two wingers, Alan Judge and Jay O’Shea moved up to partner Cillian Sheridan, while McCarthy played as an attacking midfielder, with Garvan and Gleeson holding.
It seemed to work early on in the second half, as the Turkish side were pinned back under a good spell of pressure from the Irish. Cillian Sheridan went close on a couple of occasions with two headers drifting narrowly wide.
The visitors were still dangerous on the break though, and Soner Aydogdu went very close to making it 3-0 with a curling right footed effort from the edge of the area.
Alan Judge then blazed over in the 56th minute after Ferhat Kiraz failed to clear, as the Irish continued to look for a goal.
Subsitute, Omer Sismanoglu done well to get a shot away on the hour mark but his effort drifted wide of Shane Redmond’s goal. Sismanoglu had another good chance shortly afterwards but the attempt was off target once again.
Jay O’Shea had a great chance for the Irish with twenty minutes to go. The Galway United winger was left unmarked at the back post but his powerful shot was just wide after he was played in my Alan Judge.
Turkey had the better of the latter stages, as the tempo of the game slowed dramatically, although James McCarthy did shoot wide as the game became somewhat training-like.
Omer Sismanoglu then produced an excellent finish in the first minute of injury time after a great run. He bypassed the defence with ease before placing the ball under the legs Shane Redmond to put the result beyond any doubt.
Ireland: Shane Redmond; Brendan Moloney, Ian Bermingham, Eddie Nolan, Darren Dennehy; David Meyler, Stephen Gleeson, Owen Garvan; Cillian Sheridan, Jay O’Shea, Alan Judge. Subs: Michael Spillane, Christy Fagan (Alan Judge, 81mins), Graham Carey (Jay O’Shea, 74mins), Stephen Henderson, John Joe O’Toole, James McCarthy (David Meyler, 46mins).
Turkey: Volkan Babacan; Semih Kaya, Ferhat Bikmaz, Emre Ozkan, Aykut Demir; Jem Paul Karacan, Aydin Yilmaz, Soner Aydogdu, Mustafa Pektemek; Deniz Yilmaz, Ferhat Kiraz. Subs: Cenk Gonen, Tunay Acar, Serdar Kesimal, Murat Ceylan (Soner Aydogdu, 42mins), Guray Vural, Tunay Torun (Ferat Kiraz, 70mins), Omer Sismanoglu (Deniz Yilmaz 56mins).
Referee: Stanislav Todorov (Bulgaria)
Man of the Match: Aydin Yilmaz
Attendance: 2514
First-half goals from Deniz Yilmaz and Emre Ozkan and a late goal from Omer Sismanoglu put an early dent in the Irish team’s qualification aspirations and despite having some chances, the away side were the better of the two sides.
The Turkish team were lightning quick on the break and overall, they were good value for the win. Don Givens’ side played enterprising football at times, with some intricate flowing moves but the Turkish always looked the more convincing.
Aydin Yilmaz was the star of the show. His quick turn of pace terrorised Ian Bermingham - who had only been drafted in 24 hours previous to replace Seamus Coleman - throughout and the Irish never managed to cope with the tricky Galatasaray winger.
The first chance of the game fell to Ireland’s Stephen Gleeson, who shot over in the sixth minute after some good build-up play involving Ian Bermingham and Jay O’Shea as the Irish started brightly.
Turkey took the lead in the 14th minute though, after a poor error from Eddie Nolan. The defender mis-judged a header back to goalkeeper Shane Redmond and Deniz Yilmaz was alert enough to poke the ball past the advancing Redmond to make it 1-0 to the away side.
Alan Judge forced Volkan Babacan into making a decent save with 20 minutes gone after Dave Meyler played in an excellent ball to Ian Bermingham.
Owen Garvan put the ball on a plate for Cillian Sheridan just a couple of minutes later, however, the Celtic striker headed narrowly wide from 6 yards as the Irish tried hard to find an equaliser.
Turkey should have made it 2-0 on the half hour mark when Emre Ozkan failed to connect with an incoming Aydin Yilmaz cross, despite being left unmarked at the back-post.
Emre Ozkan did manage to double the lead in the 40th minute, although there was some doubt whether Aykut Demir handled the ball in the build-up. With strong protests from the Irish, Ozkan was left space to turn before shooting into the net from just six yards to the delight of the sizeable travelling support.
The Irish changed to a more attack minded 4-3-3 after the break, with James McCarthy replacing David Meyler. The two wingers, Alan Judge and Jay O’Shea moved up to partner Cillian Sheridan, while McCarthy played as an attacking midfielder, with Garvan and Gleeson holding.
It seemed to work early on in the second half, as the Turkish side were pinned back under a good spell of pressure from the Irish. Cillian Sheridan went close on a couple of occasions with two headers drifting narrowly wide.
The visitors were still dangerous on the break though, and Soner Aydogdu went very close to making it 3-0 with a curling right footed effort from the edge of the area.
Alan Judge then blazed over in the 56th minute after Ferhat Kiraz failed to clear, as the Irish continued to look for a goal.
Subsitute, Omer Sismanoglu done well to get a shot away on the hour mark but his effort drifted wide of Shane Redmond’s goal. Sismanoglu had another good chance shortly afterwards but the attempt was off target once again.
Jay O’Shea had a great chance for the Irish with twenty minutes to go. The Galway United winger was left unmarked at the back post but his powerful shot was just wide after he was played in my Alan Judge.
Turkey had the better of the latter stages, as the tempo of the game slowed dramatically, although James McCarthy did shoot wide as the game became somewhat training-like.
Omer Sismanoglu then produced an excellent finish in the first minute of injury time after a great run. He bypassed the defence with ease before placing the ball under the legs Shane Redmond to put the result beyond any doubt.
Ireland: Shane Redmond; Brendan Moloney, Ian Bermingham, Eddie Nolan, Darren Dennehy; David Meyler, Stephen Gleeson, Owen Garvan; Cillian Sheridan, Jay O’Shea, Alan Judge. Subs: Michael Spillane, Christy Fagan (Alan Judge, 81mins), Graham Carey (Jay O’Shea, 74mins), Stephen Henderson, John Joe O’Toole, James McCarthy (David Meyler, 46mins).
Turkey: Volkan Babacan; Semih Kaya, Ferhat Bikmaz, Emre Ozkan, Aykut Demir; Jem Paul Karacan, Aydin Yilmaz, Soner Aydogdu, Mustafa Pektemek; Deniz Yilmaz, Ferhat Kiraz. Subs: Cenk Gonen, Tunay Acar, Serdar Kesimal, Murat Ceylan (Soner Aydogdu, 42mins), Guray Vural, Tunay Torun (Ferat Kiraz, 70mins), Omer Sismanoglu (Deniz Yilmaz 56mins).
Referee: Stanislav Todorov (Bulgaria)
Man of the Match: Aydin Yilmaz
Attendance: 2514
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile