Magnificent Irish U17s stun Germans

THE Republic of Ireland Women’s U17 team secured their place in the UEFA Championship final with a heroic 1-0 victory over reigning champions, Germany at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon last night.

Ireland played superbly to overcome the competition favourites. In winning Ireland denied Germany a hat-trick of tournament victories in the UEFA Under-17 Championship.

Irish defender, Megan Campbell scored the game’s only goal after 38 minutes when the St Francis FC star scored with an audacious free-kick from 30 yards.

Ireland will now play for the first time in the final of a European competition for women on Saturday when they oppose Spain, who defeated Netherlands in the other semi-final. The match will kick-off at 12.30pm Irish time.

They have also qualified for the U18 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago in September.

IRELAND: Grace Moloney, Ciara O’Brien, Megan Campbell, Jessica Gleeson, Jennifer Byrne, Ciara Grant, Aileen Gilroy, Dora Gorman (C), Denise O’Sullivan, Siobhan Killeen, Stacie Donnelly. Substitutes: Niamh McLaughlin, Rianna Jarrett (Donnelly, 63), Tanya Kennedy, Kerry Glynn, Amanda Budden, Claire Shine, Harriet Scott.