Sligo’s Kailin Barlow came off the bench for the Republic of Ireland U15 side to help inspire them to a 2-0 defeat of Cyprus in an international friendly in Dublin this afternoon.
The Sligo Rovers and former Merville United player captained the Irish when they beat the same opponents by the same scoreline in a friendly in Dundalk on Tuesday.
Both of Ireland’s goals came in the closing stages of the game.
It took until the 78th-minute for Ireland to take the lead with Louie Barry scoring the decisive goal. Four minutes later, Calum Kavanagh scored in the second minute of added time to cap off an impressive week for the side.
Speaking after the match, Under-15 Head Coach Jason Donohue said his team adapted superbly to some tactical changes, made after Tuesday’smatch.
“We deserved to win. We played 4-4-2, to try two strikers together for the first time. The scoreline didn’t flatter us.
“The players were so professional this week. In the last 15 minutes we looked very strong. That’s a credit to the players and backroom staff.
“Cyprus were a lot bigger and stronger than us, but our team were fitter in the latter stages which was crucial”.
The team return to action in April, with two home friendlies against Czech Republic on April 16 and 18.
Republic of Ireland: Patrick McGarvey; Gavin O’Brien (capt), Anselmo Garcia MacNulty, CJ Egan-Riley, Ronan Kilkenny; Ben McCormack, Evan Caffrey, Bosun Lawal, Val Adedokun; Calum Kavanagh, Louie Barry.
Subs Used: Oran Crowe, Sami Clarke, Kailin Barlow.
Team on Tuesday:
Republic of Ireland: Daniel Rose; Gavin O’Brien, Anselmo Garcia McNulty, Conrad Egan-Riley, Ronan Kilkenny; Colin Conroy, Kailin Barlow (capt), Kyle Conway; Oran Crowe, Louie Barry, Sami Clarke.
Subs Used: Len O’Sullivan, Evan Caffrey, Callum Kavanagh, Ben McCormack, Bosun Lawal.
