Ireland's McCarey eyes Spain after qualification feat

Describing the Republic of Ireland's achievement in reaching the UEFA European Under-19 Championship semi-finals as "the best night of my life," Aaron McCarey is hoping for another occasion to remember against Spain.

Although forced on to the back foot for large spells during their final Group A encounter with Romania, Ireland held on to secure a goalless draw in Berceni to seal their passage through to the last four and set up a date with the four-time winners. "Way back in October when we started this campaign people wouldn't have given us a chance of getting to the semis; they would have laughed in our faces," the Wolverhampton Wanderers FC goalkeeper explained. "It's a wonderful achievement for this group of lads."

McCarey has played a large part in Ireland's success to date, producing an impressive stop from Greece's Giorgos Katidis to maintain his side's 2-1 lead on Matchday 1 while a string of saves against Romania on Tuesday kept the hosts at bay. "My job is to be in the right place at the right time and thankfully that was the case in our last match," the former Gaelic footballer said. "I guess we weren't expecting to be under as much pressure as we were in that game. Luckily enough I was able to help the team out; on another occasion things might not have gone my way.

"Thanks to our goalkeeping coach who was sitting in the stands I was aware what was going on in the other group game [between the Czech Republic and Greece]. We knew that match could affect our chances of qualifying so, knowing the score, I would just shout to my team-mates 'We're alright boys, we have time on our side. Don't do anything silly, just keep it safe and we'll be fine.'"

Doing just that, Paul Doolin's men held on to secure a memorable achievement and one McCarey is unlikely ever to forget. "I know we didn't win but when I heard that final whistle it was the best feeling I've ever had in my life; it was by far the biggest game I've played in my career so far," he said. "We knew going into the game that if we kept a clean sheet it would probably be enough to get us there and we're delighted to have done so."

Clearly eager for Ireland to continue their adventure in Romania, the former Monaghan United FC No1 insists "anything can happen" against Ginés Meléndez's team when the sides meet in Chiajna on Friday evening. "The God's honest truth is that we'll be very disappointed if we don't go on and beat Spain," he said. "Even though they are a strong footballing nation we don't fear them at all; what is there to fear? We've come a long way now and for us Spain is just a name. It's going to be 11 against 11 with 90 minutes on the clock."