Match Reports - Under 19
Wed, 1 Mar 2006Switzerland v. Northern Ireland
| Switzerland |
3-1 | Northern Ireland Turner |
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Although losing 3-1 in somewhat difficult conditions - the pitch was snow covered just hours before kick-off - Northern Ireland did dominate the opening exchanges with Matthew Doherty and Chris Turner being particularly effective.
Unfortunately the Swiss scored very much against the run of play with keeper Trevor Carson's only real action of the first half picking the ball out of the back of the net.
After the break Switzerland moved up a gear and although Carson did perform heroically he was powerless to prevent the hosts racing into a three-goal lead.
Northern Ireland rallied after that third goal with Turner grabbing a spectacular consolation on 70 minutes when he picked up the ball in his own half, beat two players and unleashed a stunning drive into the top corner.
Not long after Ryan Catney almost reduced the deficit further only for the home keeper to produce a stunning save.
Speaking afterwards, Mal Donaghy said: "This game allowed me to experiment with the players who had performed particularly well in the recent under-18 tournament in the Canary Islands and whilst the result was disappointing overall an invaluable excersise and certain players enhancing their claims and reputations."
Northern Ireland: Trevor Carson, Chris Turner, Tony Kane, Ryan Catney, Tennant McVea, Jonathan Taylor, Matthew Doherty, Robbie Weir, Curtis Allen, Michael Carvill, Matthew Hazely subs Jonathan Tuffey (not used), Chris Casement (replaced McVea 62), Brendan McMenamin (Hazely 59), Ryan Harpur, Niall McGinn, Robert Garrett (replaced Carvill 59), Gary Liggett (replaced Allen 80)
