Ireland Under-17s fall to defeat in Portugal

Portugal 4-1 Ireland

The Republic of Ireland Men's Under-17s fell to a 4-1 defeat in the first of their UEFA U-17 EURO Elite Round Qualifiers in the Cidade Desportiva do SC Braga in Portugal.

A strong Portuguese outfit got the edge in this one even though Colin O’Brien's side played well and got their goal through Mason Melia’s first-half penalty.

With 15 players in the squad coming from the EA SPORTS LOI Academies, Ireland showed a lot of maturity in trying to retain possession in the opening exchanges, although Sporting CP's lightening quick right winger Geovany Quenda gave an early warning of the threat he carries with his direct dribbling.

With just a few minutes played Chelsea starlet Harry McGlinchy linked up brilliantly with the dynamic Niall McAndrew down the left before putting in a dangerous low ball that Melia was unlucky not to convert.

But with 10 minutes on the clock, Ireland fell behind when a heavy touch from Bohemians stopper Joe Collins allowed Gabriel Silva to pounce on it before the ball eventually sat up nicely for Portugal captain Joao Simoes to volley in.

Undeterred, Ireland almost hit back straight away when the relentless St. Patrick’s Athletic frontman Melia showed excellent pace to create a 2 v 1 situation on the break. 

The talented 16-year-old slightly overhit his pass to McAndrew, who had burst forward from deep, ending with the Derby County midfielder seeing his powerful strike well held by Diogo Ferreira.

With the goal advantage, the hosts began to force Ireland deeper and managed to double their lead with a slick passing move ending with another Sporting star, Gabriel Silva, finishing from close range.

But again, the brave Boys in Green kept going and just after the half-hour