King still believes despite costly defeat

Ireland U21 manager Noel King is refusing to give up the Euro qualification quest following last night’s defeat to 10-man Turkey.

Despite Ireland creating the better chances and holding a numerical advantage for the last 17 minutes, substitute Oguzhan Ozyakup silenced the Showgrounds crowd with an 84th-minute goal.

The reverse leaves Ireland requiring six points from their two remaining games in Hungary and Italy next month in order to finish in second place, although that may still not be enough to grab a play-off place.

Still, King reckons there’s a sufficient combination of character and quality in his side to resurrect their ambitions.

“This loss is hard to take but I know we’re capable of beating Hungary to take it into the last match against Italy,” he said. “We must remember that Italy have now won the group and may approach the game against us with a different mindset considering they’ve nothing to play for.

“I firmly believe two wins will secure us a play-off and that’s the way we’ll be approaching it.”

With Robbie Brady’s majestic form integral to Ireland’s ascent into qualification contention, it was little wonder that Turkey boss Tolunay Kafkas assigned Musa Nizam a man-marking job on the Manchester United flyer.

The pace and trickery of Brady, however, ensured he had the measure of the full-back, even if his final delivery lacked the potency for which he has become known.

Captain Greg Cunningham came close to giving Ireland the lead after only two minutes when he bombed forward from left-back to exchange passes with striker James Collins. The acute angle proved too much for the new Bristol City recruit as his low drive fizzed past the far post.

Shane Duffy endured an awful start to his last outing against Italy and he almost handed Turkey a present of a goal with only eight minutes played when his wayward header sent Sefa Yilmaz clear. however, goalkeeper Ian McLoughlin spared the Everton man’s blushes this time.

Ireland looked especially dangerous on the break and from one stray Turkey pass on the edge of the box on 12 minutes, the hosts launched a break. Eunan O’Kane’s lay-off to James Collins was perfect but the finish wasn’t — Collin smashed his effort into the side-netting.

The pressure continued after the interval and Ireland were denied what seemed a stone-wall penalty on 52 minutes. By weaving past a couple of defenders on his diagonal run, Brady caught Turkey square with his pass to Aidan White but the Leeds United flanker was upended inside the box by Ozgur Cek’s clumsy challenge. However, Estonian referee Kristo Tohver waved away the Irish appeals.

The Irish cause was boosted 17 minutes from time through the dismissal of Turkey’s Muhammet Demir. A dangerously late challenge on Cunningham prompted the referee to brandish a straight red card and his suspension will likely be increased by his subsequent push on the official.

For all their territorial dominance though, Ireland couldn’t fashion a goal and it eventually cost them.

McLoughlin managed to thwart Ismail Haktan Odabas with a save from point-blank range but, when the danger wasn’t cleared, Ozyakup was afforded the space to waltz through from the edge of the box and side-foot a low shot past the Ireland keeper.

It was a killer blow for Ireland but one they’ll have to quickly recover from for their meeting with Hungary on September 6.

IRELAND: I McLoughlin (MK Dons); J Egan (Sunderland), S Duffy (Everton), N Canavan (Scunthorpe United), G Cunningham (Bristol City); C Henderson (Arsenal), R Towell (Unattached), E O’Kane (Bournemouth); R Brady (Manchester United), J Collins (Swindon Town), A White (Leeds United).

Sub: S Scannell (Huddersfield Town) for Henderson (82).

TURKEY: Karabulut; Cek, Akca, Aziz, Nizam; Uysal, Aydogou; Yilmaz (Odabas 81), Colak (Ozyakup 61), Bayram (Yildirim 76); Demir.

Referee: Kristo Tohver (Estonia).