National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Mel Sargent started the match with the kick off. Baiste O'Neill made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Guy Tinsley in the 5th minute of play. A collision led to U21 Ireland getting a freekick after 10 minutes play. Bart Mis hit a great ball. When Rafael Hollis fell near the penalty area in the 13th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored U21 United States's protests and gave Rafael Hollis a yellow card for diving instead. In the 13th minute, Rafael Hollis hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Artt Crowe took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 14th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Cliff Pike. U21 United States's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. U21 United States's Cliff Pike played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kain McJohn in the 16th minute of play. U21 Ireland's Baiste O'Neill played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Mel Sargent in the 22nd minute of play. Cliff Pike showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Kain McJohn, who was totally free with the ball in the 27th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Brann Morrison in the 32nd minute of play forced U21 United States's goalkeeper Cliff Pike to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Guy Tinsley could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 35th minute of the match, but Baiste O'Neill made a huge save. After some fancy dribbling in the 36th minute, Terrance Hancock managed to get in a good position for a shot. U21 United States's supporters rose to their feet, but Terrance Hancock was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Baiste O'Neill breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Baiste O'Neill made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mel Sargent in the 37th minute of play. Baiste O'Neill made a fantastic save in the 40th minute, when Elberg Gota sent off a good shot on target. Antaine Dalton hit a great freekick 40 minutes into the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Elberg Gota got free with Baiste O'Neill in the 44th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 1-0.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Kain McJohn to make the kick off. In the 57th minute Mel Sargent shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Baiste O'Neill saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 60th minute, Kain McJohn hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. U21 United States made a substitution. Garth Cottrell replaced Elberg Gota. Baiste O'Neill made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Garth Cottrell in the 62nd minute of play. A collision led to U21 Ireland getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Petran Murphy hit a great ball. If Guy Tinsley had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 64th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Baiste O'Neill showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Guy Tinsley in the 67th minute of the match. The supporters of U21 Ireland booed when U21 United States was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 70 match minutes in a wonderful position. Gregory Kessler didn't get a good kick on the ball. Cliff Pike showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Caoilte Delaney, who was totally free with the ball in the 72nd minute. Cliff Pike showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Kain McJohn in the 75th minute of the match. A collision led to U21 United States getting a freekick after 76 minutes play. Rafael Hollis hit a great ball. In the 82nd match minute, U21 United States was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Garth Cottrell to maneuver through the defense. 85 minutes into the match, Mel Sargent had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Baiste O'Neill. U21 Ireland's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Mel Sargent was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-0. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. U21 United States fully deserved thier win.