UTV Sport - NI Under-21 out with home win

Subscribe to the Sport Feed Sportback to Sport

NI Under-21 out with home win

Text Size:  A  A |  POST A COMMENT |  PRINT |  SHARE 
NI's Andrew Little and San Marino’s Andrea Venerucci
Andrew Little netted twice as Northern Ireland Under-21s posted a comfortable victory over San Marino in Coleraine on Friday night.

Northern Ireland Under-21s 4 - 0 San Marino Under-21s

The hosts were already out of contention for a spot in next summer's European Championships but they were at least able to celebrate a win in their final home match.

Little and Ryan McGivern, who converted a penalty, put Northern Ireland two goals up inside quarter of an hour but, despite almost constant pressure, they had to wait until five minutes from time to increase their lead.

The goal again arrived from the penalty spot, this time Little the man to take it, and substitute William Grigg made it 4-0 in injury-time.

Northern Ireland's only previous victory in Group 5 came in San Marino and they were off the mark in the fourth minute thanks to Little.

Josh Magennis had already seen an effort saved by Mattia Manzaroli and the home side were quickly pushing for a second goal.

Shane Ferguson tested Manzaroli again with 11 minutes gone, and four minutes later it was 2-0.

Cliftonville's Liam Boyce tumbled under the challenge of Matteo Colonna and captain McGivern converted from the penalty spot.

Cardiff striker Magennis was proving a handful and he had another effort blocked but Steve Beaglehole's team had to be content with a two-goal lead at half-time.

The pattern continued after the break, with the hosts threatening but failing to add to their lead, this time Patrick McLaughlin the man denied.

Achille Della Valle saw a rare effort blocked for San Marino amid more Northern Ireland chances but the striker's evening ended early when he picked up two yellow cards in seven minutes.

His second booking was for a foul that gave the hosts another penalty, and they finally added to their tally with Little grabbing his second in the 85th minute.

The scoring was then rounded off by Grigg in the second minute of injury-time.

Northern Ireland Under-21 assistant boss Alfie Wylie hailed a great night for the country as they were able to celebrate victory on two fronts in European Championship qualifying, with the senior side making the headlines with their 1-0 victory in Slovenia.

Wylie said: "We're absolutely delighted. To win any international match is good but to keep a clean sheet and score four goals is fantastic.

"We had lots of chances, put lots of great balls in and we absolutely dominated the game so it's pleasing. It's a great night for Northern Ireland."

The Under-21s could take plenty of credit for Nigel Worthington's side's win as well, with two of their number proving the match winners.

"We heard Craig Cathcart, who was in our squad and moved up, set up the goal and Corry Evans, who was our captain earlier on in our campaign, scored it," continued Wylie.

"They're both under-21s who could have been playing for us tonight so it was great for them to play for the seniors and play a big part in their victory."

The Under-21s will now finish their Group 5 campaign with a match against Germany in Ingolstadt on Tuesday.

© Press Association

Send to a friend

Email To
Your Name
Comment
Close
Comments
0 Comments
Be the first to comment
Post a comment
Name:
Email Address:
Location:
Your Comment:
Verification Code: Captcha Code  Get New Code
POST COMMENT
[Before posting, please take a moment to familiarise yourself with our house rules. All comments are moderated and will not appear immediately. Any information you enter, including email and web addresses, will be displayed on our site if passed by our moderators.]