Ireland U-17s get ball rolling with draw

Republic of Ireland U-17 1 Iceland 1

After falling behind to an Arnor Smarson opener, Ireland levelled through Arsenal’s Anthony Stokes on the half-hour in what manager Sean McCaffrey described as a scrappy game.

“It was scrappy. We played well for the first 10 minutes and for the last 10 and created some chances, with Keith Treacy and Anthony Stokes both going close, but we didn’t deserve to win,” he said.

“Iceland played a tight game and were very strong while we played the better football, though a draw was a fair result.”

Ireland face hosts Germany tomorrow. They beat Lithuania 4-0.

REP OF IRELAND: Henderson; Davis, Moloney, Nolan, Quigley; Ryan, Gleeson, Bayly, Treacy; Stokes, Kiely. Subs: Downes for Kiely (55 mins), Dunphy for Ryan (70 mins), Power for Bayly (77 mins).