Jim Crawford: Learning to win ugly part of the 21s' education

It’s a clash of unbeaten teams at Turner's Cross after Ireland and Slovakia each defeated Moldova and Andorra last month to begin their campaigns.

Republic of Ireland U21 manager Jim Crawford a training in Fota Island, Cork. Pic: Bryan Keane, Inpho

A good week for Irish underage football could become a great one if Jim Crawford’s U21s can maintain their winning start to European Championship qualification at Turner’s Cross.

The manager was beaming on Tuesday when he heard the Government’s commitment of an annual €3m grant to League of Ireland academies.