Ireland U21 2 - 1 Hungary U21

• Jessica Farry
• Fri, Sep 02 2011


The Republic of Ireland U21s got their European Championship qualifiers off to a bright start when they defeated Hungary 2-1 at The Showgrounds in Sligo. Goals from Robbie Brady and Rhys Murphy gave the Irish the victory despite Marko Futacs getting his name on the score sheet.

Noel King’s men showed plenty of determination from the start and Robbie Brady was hassling the Hungarian defence in the early stages. He proved his worth when he gave the boys in green the lead in the 14th minute. A lovely one-two between himself and Adam Barton was finished off perfectly when Brady cut in to the box and let fly with a superb left foot effort which gave Peter Gulacsi no chance.

Hungary began to up their game a bit and came close near the half-hour mark. Goalkeeper Ian McLoughlin was forced to come off his line to clear a ball which his defenders failed to do. However, his clearance only got as far as Benjamin Balazs who had a pop at goal but his effort was well wide.

The Hungarian’s equaliser came on 38 minutes when Adam Bodi crossed for Marko Futacs to tap the ball in to McLoughlin’s net. Ireland had caused Hungary plenty of problems in defence with Robbie Brady, Rhys Murphy and Adam Barton causing several panicky moments.

The second half was slightly scrappier than the first half but Ireland maintained their domination and had a strong penalty claim when it looked as if captain James McCarthy had been pulled down in the box, but the claims were waved away by the referee.

Arsenal’s Rhys Murphy scored the winner for the boys in green in the 74th minute. A corner made its way to James McCarthy who played the ball to Brady. The Hull midfielder then swung the ball in for Murphy to knock the ball in to the net.

Bence Iszlai harshly received his marching orders eight minutes from the end for a tackle on Aidan White. After that there was no way back for the Hungarians and they were unable to get anything past the Irish midfield.



Republic of Ireland U-21: Ian McLoughlin, Mark Connolly, Gavin Gunning, Robert Kiernan. Niall Canavan, Richard Towell, Aidan White, James McCarthy, Adam Barton, Rhys Murphy, Robert Brady.
Subs not used : Aaron McCarey, Conor Clifford, Conor Hourihane, Lanre Oyebanjo, Shane Duffy, James Collins, Jeff Hendrick.
Bookings: Richard Towell.

Hungary U-21: Peter Gulacsi, Daniel Svab, Zsolt Szokol, Ferenc Fodor, David Kalnoki-Kis, Adam Bodi (Patrik Hidi, 86), Andras Gosztonyi, Benjamin Balazs (Adam Gyurcso, 78), Mate Kiss, Bence Iszlai, Marko Futacs (Daniel Nagy, 77).
Subs not used: Balazs Megyeri, Alex Szeleczki, Lajos Bertus, Tamas Tajthy.
Bookings: Daniel Svab, Benjamin Balazs, Marko Futacs.
Sendings Off: Bence Iszlai.

Referee: Sebastien Delferiere (Belgium).
Attendance: 2,500.
extratime.ie Man of the Match: Robbie Brady.