Hendrick strike leaves hosts empty-handed

Jeffrey Hendrick scored the winner with the Republic of Ireland's first meaningful attack of the game as UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round Group 4 hosts Poland came up short in Koszalin.

Derby County FC midfielder Hendrick beat Filip Bednarek with a near-post header from Matthew Doherty's right-wing cross with 15 minutes on the clock, and while Janusz Białek's side were to see the bulk of possession for the remainder of the game, it was only an exceptional display from their goalkeeper that denied the Republic of Ireland more goals.

Łukasz Zejdler conspired to miss the target from five metres for Poland just before the half-hour, and Pawel Wszołek fired wide from further out a couple of minutes later. Although Bartłomiej Pawłowski missed from a similar distance after a quick counterattack not long after the interval, FC Twente goalkeeper Bednarek then took centre stage. His double save denied first Samir Carruthers and then Declan Walker from the rebound on the hour, and he parried another Walker effort on to the bar a minute later.