U21: Ireland claim first-ever meeting with San Marino, brave Titans in front of 4,000 in Cork

The Under-21 National Team take to the immaculate Turner’s Cross pitch in their customary 3-5-2. This time Zannoni drops back into midfield, leaving the advanced role to Famiglietti, making his first start just like Giambalvo and Sensoli. Ireland threaten Amici’s goal for the first time on 5 minutes. Curtis runs at Contadini, cuts inside onto his left and unleashes a powerful shot, but gets too far under it. Shortly afterwards, the lightning-fast Armstrong bursts through the defensive line and goes one-on-one with Amici, who denies him with a brilliant rush off his line. Vata pounces on the rebound and shoots quickly on goal, but finds the fists of the San Marino keeper. A minute later the pattern changes slightly. This time Armstrong breaks away down the right wing, then drills in a powerful, whipped ball that Vata, first time, crashes in off the underside of the bar, giving Amici no chance. That the home side, urged on by the noisy Turner’s Cross crowd, would come flying out of the blocks was easy to foresee. San Marino, however, are not overawed. They battle and, when they can, press high as well. They do so, for example, on 16 minutes, stepping in on the defensive passing move that starts from Lawal and goes back to keeper Keeley. With Santi closing him down, the latter takes too long to clear the ball, allowing the San Marino striker to charge down his kick. The ball does not rocket towards goal but instead trickles out towards the touchline, still drawing worried "oohs" from the home crowd. Shortly after, more work for Amici, as Armstrong tests him severely with a header from a Curtis cross: a fantastic save from the San Marino goalkeeper, "cancelled out" in a sense by the assistant’s flag, but no less impressive for that. Past the midway point of the half, San Marino launch another attacking raid: Famiglietti wins a free-kick which is played short to Contadini; the captain isolates himself in a one-on-one and swings in an inviting cross, which the defence cuts out. The move still looks promising, but the referee halts play for a foul in attack. Armstrong remains the liveliest of the Boys in Green, but the home centre-forward does not always match his physical dominance with end product. On 25 minutes his double sombrero in the box is delightful, but equally praiseworthy is Matteoni’s last-ditch recovery, which not only prevents a close-range effort but also earns a goal-kick. Shortly afterwards, the chance the number 9 contrives to miss almost on the goal line is astonishing. Ireland work the situation well, executing a corner routine involving first Healy and then Vata, who drills a powerful, precise ball into Armstrong’s zone. The striker opens up his side-foot for what looks a simple finish, but fails to hit the target to the disbelief of himself and the many supporters massed behind Amici’s goal. On the half-hour Santi goes it alone with a long run down the right flank, ending with a low cross that Keeley reads well, getting there a split second before Famiglietti. Gradually the match edges towards the final minutes of the half, which have proven so painful for the young Titans in these early games of the European cycle. Ireland step it up and first squander another chance through the ever-dangerous Armstrong (a free header in the six-yard box, once more put wide), then fail to cash in on a good move between Armstrong and Moran: plenty of power in the number 10’s shot, but it flies miles over. In the meantime, Sensoli has tried his luck from the edge of the area, taking advantage of another foray forward by Contadini. Number 14 has room to work with but opens up his body too much. The referee adds one minute of stoppage time and Ireland, right at the death, severely test Amici again. Healy is afforded too much space on the edge of the box and uses it to shoot; he strikes it very well, but Amici says no with a spectacular save at full stretch. Time is already well up, but the referee still allows the corner to be taken. Ireland draw up another set play that frees Vata to shoot: a powerful right-footer that bends Amici’s hands and leaves San Marino to swallow a painful 2-0 deficit. The ball is brought back to the centre circle and the referee blows for half-time straight away, compounding the frustration of Cecchetti’s players. After the restart Ireland push again, but without the same intensity as in the closing stages of the first half. On 55 minutes a scrambled move in the San Marino box ends with a shot from Moran, which smacks into Matteoni’s "crocodile" block, the defender showing his usual tireless commitment. The hour mark approaches without much incident. At that point, San Marino win a corner: Santi delivers, the defence clear and Toccaceli completes the move, but his left-footed attempt fails to trouble Keeley. In the meantime, Ireland produce no more than a free-kick from three-quarters out, which Healy sends over. After San Marino’s corner, Armstrong sparks back into life. On 61 minutes he powers and races through on the left before going for goal from a tight angle. A selfish choice that brings no reward: only the side-netting for the number 9. The scoreline does change again on 66 minutes, and this time Armstrong’s persistence pays off. Matteoni, stepping across to intercept the home striker, lifts the ball high into the air, lobbing even Amici as he comes out. Armstrong pounces on the loose ball and, with the goal gaping just centimetres away, scores a finish that was objectively impossible to miss, celebrating it with a long, cathartic outpouring. On 72 minutes Lawal goes close to adding a fourth from a corner, rising above everyone but glancing just wide. Then it takes two outstanding clearances from Matteoni – each more remarkable than the last – to prevent further damage as he throws himself in front of Gilsenan’s point-blank attempts, the latter having come on for two-goal hero Vata. Cecchetti, for his part, brings on in turn Nicolò Sancisi, Guidi, D’Addario, Marco Pasolini and Dolcini. In the lengthy stoppage time (6 minutes), Ireland launch one last offensive with a powerful right-foot strike from Curtis, deflected into the side-netting. It is the final snapshot of a match that the Titans conclude with heads held very high, thanks to their trademark generosity and bearing in mind also the very heated atmosphere – in terms of the crowd, though not the weather – in which the game was played. Now comes a month’s break before the final away trip of 2023, away to Turkey.

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Under-21, European Qualifiers 2025 | Republic of Ireland – San Marino 3-0 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND Keeley; Curtis, Abankwah, Lawal, Furlong; Healy (from 79' McJannet), Adeeko (from 68' Phillips); Vata (from 68' Gilsenan), Moran, Springett (from 68' Emakhu), Armstrong (from 79' Carty) Substitutes: Cahill, Garcia MacNulty, Murphy, Grehan Coach: James Crawford   SAN MARINO Amici; Giambalvo (from 70' D'Addario), Matteoni, M. Sancisi; Giocondi (from 70' Guidi), Toccaceli, Zannoni (from 82' Dolcini), Sensoli (from N. Sancisi), Contadini; Famiglietti, Santi (from 82' M. Pasolini) Substitutes: Battistini, F. Pasolini, Severi, Gatti Coach: Matteo Cecchetti Referee: Antoine Paul Chiaramonti (AND) Assistant referees: Andreu Simarro and Ainhoa Fernández Ruiz (AND) Fourth Official: Luis Teixeira (AND) Booked: Matteoni, Abankwah, N. Sancisi Scorers: 8' and 45+2' Vata, 66' Armstrong

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