Ireland miss out despite victory

The Republic of Ireland secured the win they needed against Austria only to discover that two late Greece goals had denied them a place in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals.

Ireland and Austria trailed elite round Group 3 hosts Greece by one and two points respectively at kick-off and two goals from Aiden O'Brien either side of a Kevin Knight header gave Seán McCaffrey's side victory. However, Greece scored twice late on to beat Finland 2-1 and Ireland must hope to end as the runners-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their group when the elite round concludes next Thursday.

Austria had dominated the first half and Dominik Burusic hit the post on 17 minutes before the same player flicked the ball just wide soon after. So it was against the run of play that Ireland promptly took the lead, O'Brien charging into the left of the box and beating Austria goalkeeper Richard Strebinger.

Although Austria kept up the pressure, Ireland doubled their lead four minutes after the break when substitute Anton Rodgers picked out Knight to head into an empty net. Ireland were soon down to ten men when George Smith picked up a second yellow card but they kept Austria and bay and O'Brien scored again with eight minutes to go.

Ireland manager Sean McCaffrey said: "To be within one minute of the reaching the European Championships is very disappointing for the boys. They can be extremely proud of their performance, not just today against Austria but over the week. They showed great character and skill and it's a pity that they won't get the opportunity to showcase their talents off in the finals."