Gweedore’s Marc Walsh makes his Republic of Ireland under 16 debut

THE Republic of Ireland U16 team got off to a winning start in the UEFA Development Tournament as they beat hosts Hungary in Telki today.
Marc Walsh was drafted into the squad just last weekend and the Gweedore teenager made his first appearance at this age level coming on for the last 20 minutes.
Ireland sit joint top of the group after the first day following Slovakia’s 2-1 defeat of Austria earlier in the day.
Ireland produced a dynamic display with the pace of their attacking players troubling the Hungarian defence.
The Irish went ahead in the 55th minute when Aaron Bolger produced a cross from the left and St Patrick’s Athletic’s Luke Nolan volleyed home from close range.
Hungary levelled in the 68th minutes after Horváth Csanád produced an excellent cross for Kevin Csoboth to head home.
Ireland grabbed the winner two minutes from time as Dominic Peppard beat a couple of defenders then broke into the left side of the penalty area and fired in a low shot to snatch the win.
“It was a good win. It was a difficult game against a decent opponent. We started well and created some chances. We’d watched videos of them and felt we could make impact out wide against them. Callum Thompson did well down the left,” said Ireland Manager Paul Osam.