Amateurs draw with Scotland in Tipperary
Credit:
The Republic of Ireland Amateur team played out a one-all draw against Scotland in Cooke Park, Tipperary in what was a very competitive and enjoyable game.
Irish boss Gerry Smith had included eight new caps in his squad and he got all of them on the pitch as his search to put together the strongest possible squad for next year's UEFA Regions Cup qualifiers continues.
Ireland started the better and James Lee went close after 15 minutes after excellent work by Davy O'Sullivan when his cross from the end line found Lee arriving late into the box but his shot went narrowly wide.
Scotland had more possession but could not break down the defensive partnership of James Walsh and Paul Breen. On 25 minutes Ireland should have taken the lead after Chris Barbour worked his magic only to see his shot go the wrong side of the post. Ireland got their reward in the 36th minute when Adam Foley weaved his way past the Scottish defence to shoot Ireland into the lead.
Ireland looked solid for the rest of the half and Scotland failed to test Avondale's Danny O' Leary but in the first minute of additional time the Irish defence were caught cold when Ian Diack finished in style from six yards.
The second half saw both teams try and produce a winner by playing excellent football which the large crowd appreciated and the Scottish keeper Allan Fleming was forced to make three brilliant saves from Barber, Somers and Gleeson.
The match was played in the excellent facilities of St. Michael's at Frank Cooke Park and the home crowd gave a very sporting welcome to the Scottish team and in particular to Tommy Coyne , son of former senior international striker Tommy Coyne.
It was an excellent workout for what was an experimental Irish team and Smith was happy with the performance.
"It was a very good workout and a very worthwhile experience. I'm happy with the draw as it was probably a fair result on the night. I was happy to get all the new caps on the pitch and we got a few answers but we are still in a process of trying to whittle down the number of players we are looking at," said Smith
Ireland will now play two games against the Defence Forces over the October Bank Holiday weekend before facing England on November 3 in what is sure to be a cagey match as the two sides will face each other again in the UEFA Regions Cup qualifiers in San Marino next March.
Republic of Ireland: Danny O' Leary, Conor Dillon, Ken Hoey, Paul Breen, James Walsh, Chris Barbour, Adam Foley, James Lee, Lee Murtagh, David O' Sullivan, Brian Murphy.
Subs: Danny Long, Mark Horgan, Christopher Higgins, Leighton Gleeson, David Meehan, Carl Somers, Jimmy Carr. (All used).
Scotland: Andy Leishman, Willie Lyle, Jamie Mackenzie, Craig Pettigrew, Graham Hay, Neil O' Mc Cabe, Sean Grady, Jordan Murch, Tommy Coyne, Ian Diack, Robert Halliday.
Subs: Chris Wilson, Roddy Mc Lennan, Kenny Mc Lean, David Gormley, Allan Fleming. (All used).
