Academy scholar plays in win over Austria
Huddersfield Town Academy scholar Danny Kane earned his fifth cap for the Republic of Ireland Under-17 side as they produced a dramatic second half fight-back to secure a 2-1 victory over Austria in Dublin on Tuesday evening.
Defender Kane played the entire 90 minutes at Dalymount Park, with Town’s Academy Manager Mark Lillis watching on in the crowd.
Lillis told htafc.com:
“Danny played a part in Ireland’s first goal, starting the move with a great interception and pass out of defence. He was very brave on a few occasions too and received the ‘Man of the Match’ award after the final whistle. I was proud watching him play.
“I think international football can play an important role in the development of our Academy players. Last night Austria played a unique system that featured no forwards and focussed on keeping the ball, which was a completely new experience for Danny - one he will have learned from. The Ireland Under-17 squad has an international tournament coming up in Serbia during March and I hope he is involved.
“We’ve also seen scouts from England, Wales and Scotland watching our age groups from Under-15 level upwards this season and hopefully that will get the ball rolling on further call-ups for our young players.”
According to fai.ie’s match report, Austria were in superb form in the first half and strung together long periods of possession. They eventually found a way past the well-marshalled Irish defence in the 25th minute when Bernhard Fila cut the ball back and Sinan Yilmaz fired home superbly on the turn.
Ireland had to weather the storm but they were better after the break and levelled in the 61st minute when Nottingham Forest striker McDonagh exploited a gap in the Austrian defence and fired home emphatically from the edge of the box.
David Gugganig was then penalised for a foul on Conor Masterson in the Austrian penalty area in the 81st minute and captain Georgie Poynton stepped up to fire home from the spot.
The Irish, who are preparing for the elite qualifying round of the UEFA U17 Championship later this month, play another friendly against the Austrians on Thursday (6 March) at Gannon Park, Malahide, in a 2pm kick-off.
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