Northern Ireland’s Under-21s lost out to their Portuguese counterparts in an international challenge match.
U21s boss Tommy Wright applauded the efforts of his young side after the encounter.
“I’m proud of the lads,” said Wright after the 4-0 defeat. “We knew we would have a lot of defending to do against a side of Portugal’s quality, and they worked extremely hard throughout the game.”
Northern Ireland keeper Mason Munn was called into action after just four minutes to stop an attempt from Geovany Quenda.
On 13 minutes the hosts took the lead. Eoin Kenny fouled Daniel Banjaqui as he closed in on goal and the ref immediately pointed to the spot. The penalty was converted by Gustavo Sa.
Two minutes later Makenzie Kirk’s cross into the box was clutched by Portuguese keeper Goncalo Ribeiro before Northern Ireland captain Michael Forbes blocked a shot from attacker Goncalo Moreira. Fernandes blasted the rebound goalwards, however Sam Glenfield managed to block his shot.
Sam Inwood stepped in to clear a dangerous Bras cross and Munn grabbed Moreira’s delivery from the resulting corner. And not long after that Munn plucked a cross from Rodrigo Rego out of the air.
Dylan Sloan stopped Forbs in his tracks, while down the other end Ribeiro punched away a Glenfield corner.
Portugal grabbed a second goal on 35 minutes. Moreira fed Quenda inside the area and he stroked the ball home.
Northern Ireland had the first chance of the second half. Glenfield’s corner fell to Darren Robinson inside the area, although his effort was blocked.
Substitute goalkeeper Diogo Ferreira clutched a Jonny Russell cross as Northern Ireland enjoyed more possession.
Russell blocked a goal-bound Forbs effort and then Conor Barr blocked a crisp drive from Moreira. And Bras steered an attempt off target as Portugal threatened once again.
In the 72nd minute Portugal extended their lead, Quenda grabbing his second goal of the game with a neat strike from outside the area. Substitute Diogo Sousa provided the assist.
On 80 minutes a corner from George Feeney reached Robinson and he let fly, however Portugal sub Tiago Parente managed to block the shot.
A dangerous cross from Callum Burnside had Portugal’s third keeper in the game, Joao Carvalho, struggling to get hold of the ball.
In the 90th minute Portugal added a fourth.
“The penalty decision felt a little unusual from our perspective,” reflected Wright.
“Perhaps the final scoreline didn’t fully reflect the overall contest. There were periods where we enjoyed good possession, although at times we were guilty of giving the ball away too easily when we had opportunities to build attacks.
“We made several changes in the second half, including bringing four players on at half-time, and the squad applied themselves well. On reflection we know we need to be a little better when we regain possession, but full credit to the players – they gave everything against a very strong opponent.
“There were also plenty of positives to take from the game. We were able to hand debuts to James Simpson, Harry Lynch, Callum Burnside, George Feeney, Logan Wallace and Francis Hurl, which is an important part of what these matches are about."
Action from Estoril
