Italy 1 Ireland 0: Noel King last night hailed the courage of his Ireland U21 players after they succumbed to a second-half winner against 10-man Italy in Vicenza.

Ireland maintained a 100% record in their Uefa U21 qualifiers last night as a pair of early goals killed off Andorra on their home patch.

IT MIGHT, in reality, be the Airtricity League versus the Football Conference but any meeting of Ireland and England comes with added spice and tonight’s International Challenge Trophy game at the RSC in Waterford (7.30) is no exception.

NON-LEAGUE Burscough could face a trip to Peterborough as reward for knocking League One Gillingham out of the FA Cup.

TALKS between Cork’s striking hurlers and footballers and members of the county board executive are expected to resume on Friday.