Northern Ireland U17s hit the post and survived a late spot-kick to earn a point in a scoreless draw with hosts Cyprus U17 as they continued their U17 Euro 2026 qualifying campaign.
Competition
U17 Euro 2026, Qualifying Round Group 11
Scoreline
Northern Ireland U17s 0-0 Cyprus U17s
Venue
Ethnikos Achnas, Achnas
Date
31 October 2025
Team News
Northern Ireland’s Under-17s are in Cyprus competing in Qualifying Round Group 11 for U17 Euro 2026, facing Armenia (28 October), Cyprus (31 October) and Finland (3 November).
Andy Waterworth's side kicked off the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Armenia on Tuesday thanks to first half goals from Eamonn Tohill and Joel Kerr.
The 20-strong squad is chiefly made up of players who are currently part of, or have been part of, the Irish FA JD Academy or have previously played for Northern Ireland at youth level.
Waterworth made four changes from Tuesday's win, bringing Daniel McCarron, Charlie McConnell, Luke Hawe and Zak Magowan into the starting XI.
West Ham United striker Joel Kerr was handed the captain's armband for the game.
How it happened
Northern Ireland started brightly, having an early effort deflected into the side netting before Charlie McConnell sent a shot over the top on five minutes from inside the area.
The chances continued a few minutes after that when Alfie Wilson cut the ball across the area from the right for McConnell to slide in and send his shot over the bar.
At the other end Paraskevas Konstrantinou skewed the ball past the right post on 18 minutes before Andreas Pieri saw an effort blocked not long after that.
Following a lull in play, the action in front on goal continued just after the half-hour mark when Coran Madden burst into the area but could only fire over from around 12 yards.
Then, a few minutes after that, McConnell did well to win possession outside the area and looked to find the net with a well struck effort only for keeper Theofanis Aresti to get down low to turn the ball away for a corner.
There was one final opportunity moments from half-time when Pieri saw a shot blocked by Daniel McCarron with Northern Ireland keeper Phoenix Blayney rising confidently to pluck the subsequent corner out of the area.
Half-time: Northern Ireland U17s 0-0 Cyprus U17s
There was a moment of danger not long after the break, but some composed defending saw Calum Anderson eventually shepherd the ball to safety before play switched to the other end for Luke Hawe to have an effort blocked in front of goal before Aresti gratefully gathered the ball.
The home side then threatened through substitute David Gerasimou but his near post effort was beaten away by Blayney in what was a brisk start to the second half.
The sides traded chances just after the hour. Substitute Jack May might have broken the deadlock after running onto a flick around 18 yards out, but he was unfortunate to send the ball narrowly past the post as Aresti advanced to close down the angles while, almost straightaway, Andreas Dimitriou lifted an effort over the top from the edge of the six yard box.
With both sides chasing the win the action intensified as the minutes ticked away.
With just under a quarter-of-an-hour remaining Madden came closest to finding a way through after collecting the ball in the middle of the park before embarking on an impressive solo run that saw him evade a number of tackles before unleashing a right-foot strike that cannoned back off the base of an upright.
Cyprus might have thought they had snatched the win in the closing minutes.
They were awarded a spot-kick on 86 minutes when Gerasimou went down under a challenge from Anderson. He recovered sufficiently to step up to take the subsequent penalty but could only look on as Blayney impressively dived to his right to nullify the threat.
Then, as the game was about to roll over into stoppage time, Blayney performed heroically again to acrobatically turn over a stinging Pieri strike from the edge of the area.
It would have been a harsh outcome for a Northern Ireland side that were on top for large periods of the game, but the point gained keeps Waterworth's side on top of the group going into the final game on Monday morning against Finland, who defeated Armenia by two unanswered goals in the other game played today.
Giving his thoughts after the game, Waterworth said: "Naturally we're disappointed, we had the lions' share of the possession, we had numerous chances in the first half but we didn't take them and ultimately that killed us.
"I can't criticise the endeavour and the effort, the boys worked so hard in the heat but we just lacked quality at the right times.
"That turned the game into a battle which Cyprus wanted although, in the end, Phoenix Blayney saved a penalty which gave us a point.
"Best for us was Coran Madden was really good, he played deeper today and was excellent, Calum Anderson also had a strong game and also obviously Phoenix Blayney."
Full-time: Northern Ireland U17s 0-0 Cyprus U17s
Line-ups
Northern Ireland: Phoenix Blayney, Daniel McCarron, Alfie Mulvenna, Calum Anderson, Alfie Wilson, Charlie McConnell, Finlay Ross, Joel Kerr (capt.), Coran Madden, Luke Hawe, Zak Magowan
Substitutes: (used) Charlie Campbell, Liam Kelly, Eamonn Tohill, Jack May, Sean Cassidy; (unused) Matthew Belshaw, Calum Woods, Harry Gough, Jahmi Kellyman
Cyprus: Theofanis Aresti, Soriris Panagi, Andreas Dimitriou, Christodoulos Marneros, Antonis Konis, Markos Theodorou, Andreas Pieri, Paraskevas Konstrantinou, Petros Makkoulas, Rompertos Rotis, Alexandros Geroukalis
Substitutes: (used) David Gerasimou, Kyriakos Christodoulou, Anastasis Glafkou, Marios Toumbas; (unused) Nicolas Georgiou, Alexandros Middleton, Konstantinos Lythragkomitis, Angelos Angeli, Martinos Chara
