Lots of pros as Irish Amateurs see off Crawford's youngsters in feisty friendly

Glen Daly's first-half header enough to give Ireland Amateurs the bragging rights at Whitehall

Tight tussle: Kian Leavy of Republic of Ireland U20's is tackled by Jimmy Carr of Republic of Ireland Amateur Selection during Tuesday's friendly between the sides. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

IRELAND UNDER-20 0 IRELAND AMATEURS 1 

Glen Daly’s first-half header at Whitehall gave Ireland’s amateur side victory on Tuesday night over an Under-20 international selection led by Jim Crawford.

Crawford assembles his Under-21 squad on Wednesday for next Tuesday’s crucial Euro qualifier in Sweden and the onus was this younger crew to break into the travelling party. All of the 18 players he picked are eligible for the next campaign.

As the game was non-competitive, Crawford had to rely on the discretion of clubs to release players. That meant previously uncapped Tom Hill of Liverpool didn’t report, nor did Harvey Neville, son of Phil, travel from Inter Miami.

Both Deji Sotana (Brentford) and Armstrong Oko-Flex (West Ham United) are being carefully managed by their clubs and so missed out.

For the amateur side, the workout was part of their build-up to the Uefa Regions Cup qualifying campaign, scheduled for October in Bulgaria. The FAI side will be joined in the competition by teams from Romania and San Marino.

The right to represent Ireland was determined by a playoff between two regional selections 10 days ago. Region 2 prevailed by beating Region 1 comprehensively, with Rockmount pair Nathan Broderick (2) and Luke Casey scoring in a 3-0 win.

For the Under-20s, there was a welcome return to the international fold for Joe Hodge as a second-half substitute. The midfielder moved last year from Manchester City to Wolves and recently made his return from a back injury in the side’s Under-23 side.

Brighton’s James Furlong was first to threaten by blazing a shot over before the amateurs edged in front seven minutes before the break. Casey's inswinging corner landed perfectly for Daly to head home.

UCD Dylan Duffy struck the post late on but the contest, bruising at times, was more than about the result for the youngsters.

IRELAND U-20: D Odumosu (D Harrington 46); T Sobowale, C O’Riordan (Z Delaney 46), N Jones (J Hodge 58), J Furlong; C Gilligan (M Healy 58), K Phillips (M Ogunbo 57); K Leavy, D Duffy, D Burns; T Cannon (K Robinson 73).

IRELAND AMATEUR: B O’Connell; A Crowley (C Thompson 79), J McMullen, G Daly, S Burgess (E Murphy 57); S Chambers (N Broderick 57), AJ O’Connor (A Humpreys 57), J Carr (S Rodgers 69), L Casey, E Hayes, S Burgess.

Referee: Paul Norton.