Givens pushes U21s to move up a gear for Israel clash

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U21s coach Don Givens is hoping his side are up to qualifying for the European Championship finals despite suffering a blow to morale in defeat against Portugal.

Tuesday night's 2-0 friendly loss in Rio Maior means Ireland go into their next Group Four encounter against Israel in Tel Aviv on the back of three straight setbacks. Givens has just over six weeks to address the problems evident at the Municipal Stadium.

"We need a result after what was a poor performance," he said. "Although we lost against France in our previous game, we still went into last night's match on the back of what was a decent display."