Under-17: Northern Ireland ease past the Titans with two goals per half

With two goals in each half, Northern Ireland defeated the San Marino Under-17 National Team in the final match of Group 11 in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round. At the "Valentino Mazzola" Stadium in Santarcangelo di Romagna, Loris Bonesso’s Titans also paid for a touch of fatigue after the closely scheduled fixtures. Even so, the young Biancazzurri showed courage against their Northern Irish counterparts. Yet the Greens’ victory – under head coach Andrew Waterworth – tastes of defeat, as goal difference favours Italy and denies the British side progression to the next round. Northern Ireland threatened for the first time after ten minutes when Brannigan broke free from Forcellini down the left and crossed for Feeney in the middle, who fired over. The opening goal arrived four minutes later: Doherty crossed from the right and picked out Brannigan, who was left unmarked in the area and made it 1-0. The Titans had a good chance in the 29th minute: Enea Della Balda intercepted a misplaced pass by a defender, drove into the box and shot, but Graninger blocked his effort. On the half-hour mark Northern Ireland doubled their lead: Watson played Feeney through in the area, his shot was saved by Casadei, but Burnside reacted quickest and scored into an almost empty net. The British side came close twice more in the final ten minutes of the half: McClure crossed for Feeney, who fired over from close range; two minutes later Feeney again was dangerous but denied by an excellent stop from Casadei. The half ended with Northern Ireland two goals to the good against the Titans. The Greens came out fired up after the interval and needed just two minutes to grab their third: from a corner by Burnside, defender Haughey rose highest and powered a header past Casadei. The British threatened again soon after with a shot-cross from Atherton that forced Casadei to tip behind for a corner. In the 56th minute Northern Ireland thought they had made it 4-0, but the goal was ruled out for offside. The move started from a corner taken by Brannigan, whose cross found Haughey; his header crashed off the bar – with a touch from Casadei – and on the rebound Feeney turned it in, but referee Torres halted play for an offside against the striker. After twenty fairly quiet minutes, Northern Ireland then found their fourth: Devine slid a low pass through for Graham, who made no mistake one-on-one with Casadei. Northern Ireland piled on the pressure in stoppage time in search of a fifth goal, which would have seen them progress at Italy’s expense, and they went close in particular on two occasions: Graham found himself unmarked in the box but Casadei denied him a brace with a fine diving save. Two minutes later, Brannigan’s free-kick delivery again picked out Graham, whose header flew over. The Northern Irish siege was not enough, and so it is Italy who qualify for the next phase despite today’s defeat to Greece (the Hellenic side topped the group with a perfect points tally).

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Under-17 Euro 2024 Qualifiers, DAY 3 | San Marino–Northern Ireland 0-4 SAN MARINO Casadei (70' F. Della Balda); Marani (65' Montali), Bugli, Marinucci; Forcellini, Pasolini, Meloni (70' Zavoli), Bindi (65' Canarezza); Arlotti, Valentini (88' Faetanini); E. Della Balda Substitutes: Protti, Raschi, Contucci, Mularoni Head coach: Alessandro Loris Bonesso NORTHERN IRELAND Grainger; Moreland (46' Leacock), Haughey, Watson; Atherton (68' Hawthorne), Doherty, McClure (84' Stitt), Burnside (68' O'Neill), Devine; Brannigan, Feeney (56' Graham) Substitutes: Murdock, Friars, Savage, Kelly, Head coach: Andrew Michael Waterworth   Referee: Ivo Torres (LUX) Assistant referees: Yannick Mentz (LUX) and Mattia Scarpa (ITA) Fourth official: Juan Luca Sacchi (ITA) Scorers: 14' Brannigan, 30' Burnside, 47' Haughey, 76' Graham Booked: Bindi, Marani, Bugli, E. Della Balda, Faetanini; McClure, Feeney

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