UMBRO Galway Cup - Day 1

The weather gods smiled kindly on Drom Soccer Park on Wednesday for the opening day of the UMBRO Galway Cup. The tournament is now in its 8th successive year and the sun shone brightly at the home of SD Galway as the opening round of games got underway.

Interest was most keen in the 1997 Elite section with the Republic of Ireland opening their account with an impressive 3-0 over Aberdeen. Next up was the clash of Valerenga and Dynamo Moscow with the Russian side emerging 4-2 winners.

Manchester City made their eagerly-anticipated bow in the next game but seemed to be caught cold on the warm afternoon - finding themselves outplayed by Isreal's Maccabi Haifa and going down 2-0. 

Spanish side Malaga were next as they faced St. Kevin's Boys with the Irish lads earning a creditable 2-2 draw. 

Goals from Malike Benrougguibi and Shane Elworthy - one in each half - saw the Republic of Ireland make it two wins from two against Valerenga. Ireland withstood early pressure in the both halves but were worthy winners in the end. 

A late Scott Wright strike was enough for a hard-working Aberdeen team to secure their first victory over Valerenga. The Scottish side went on to add another notch in the win column as they defeated Dynamo Moscow 2-1 in the last Elite game of the day.
 

In the 1997 Boys section there were two wins for East Meath United and a victory and a loss for FC Futura of Finland. Kildare suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Midlands Schoolboys while Roscommon lost heavily to Salthill Devon before beating Futura. Donegal drew 0-0 with St Oliver Plunkett. 

For a full summary of Wednesday's results visit our Matchtracker.