National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Brayden McPaul took the kick off in the first half of the match. 7 minutes into the match, U21 Northern Ireland's goal looked a bit too open when Seán Duggan came free, but Pat Zamora reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 12th minute Seán Duggan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Pat Zamora saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 Ireland's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Bowie Dillon in the 14th minute. In the 16th minute, U21 Northern Ireland's Sam Bates dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-0. Pat Zamora took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Seán Duggan, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 21st minute, Matthijs De Ligt hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. U21 Northern Ireland's Pat Zamora played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Seán Duggan in the 22nd minute of play. The supporters of U21 Ireland booed when U21 Northern Ireland was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 27 match minutes in a wonderful position. Gez Blackwater didn't get a good kick on the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Barram Duggan in the 30th minute of play forced U21 Northern Ireland's goalkeeper Pat Zamora to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 32 minutes into the game, Bowie Dillon cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-1. Pat Zamora was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. U21 Northern Ireland's Pat Zamora played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Seán Duggan in the 37th minute of play. A collision led to U21 Ireland getting a freekick after 37 minutes play. Seán Duggan hit a great ball. After 39 minutes, Sam Bates mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the U21 Northern Ireland and the U21 Ireland players grew even worse after the yellow card. Sam Bates hit a great freekick 39 minutes into the match. Sam Bates's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 41stth minute, Richard Duggan skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. Johnny Gallagher charged in rather forcefully in the 45th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Johnny Gallagher the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 44th minute, one of U21 Northern Ireland:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for U21 Northern Ireland. The score stood at 1-1 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Sam Bates stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. U21 Ireland's Richard Duggan played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sam Bates in the 50th minute of play. Richard Duggan came out of the goal in the 53rd minute to try and stop a shot by U21 Northern Ireland's Sam Bates. But to his dismay, Sam Bates quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-1. U21 Ireland's Richard Duggan played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sam Bates in the 57th minute of play. Bowie Dillon fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 60th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Pat Zamora having to interfere. U21 Northern Ireland made a substitution. Eric Choupo-Moting replaced Sam Bates. U21 Northern Ireland made a substitution. Brandon Branson replaced Robin Lockwood. Pat Zamora made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bowie Dillon in the 63rd minute of play. In the 65th minute Eric Choupo-Moting shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Richard Duggan saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 Northern Ireland were awarded a corner in the 66th minute after U21 Ireland's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Paddy Elliot took the corner. With a little luck, U21 Northern Ireland's Pat Zamora got control of the ball when Brayden McPaul tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 70th match minute, U21 Northern Ireland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Gez Blackwater to maneuver through the defense. In the 71st minute of the match Bowie Dillon sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Pat Zamora skillfully saved the ball. Richard Duggan didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Paddy Elliot went, in the 73rd minute, to the upper right corner, 3-1 was the resulting score. Bowie Dillon hit a great freekick 76 minutes into the match. Eric Choupo-Moting struck a weak shot in the 77th minute. Richard Duggan didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for U21 Northern Ireland. Richard Duggan took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Eric Choupo-Moting, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After some careless play in the U21 Ireland defense, Eric Choupo-Moting kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Richard Duggan. The U21 Ireland fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Richard Duggan should have stopped the shot. If Eric Choupo-Moting had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 87th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Richard Duggan stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Eric Choupo-Moting's shot from short distance in the 89th minute. Eric Choupo-Moting scored 5-1 in the 90th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Richard Duggan, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. U21 Northern Ireland's Pat Zamora played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Seán Duggan in the 95th minute of play.