Ireland’s fast start shocks Croatia as Jim Crawford’s men survive comeback to claim U21 friendly win

Targeting a first Under-21 European Championship qualification this autumn, the latest step on Ireland’s road to history took them to a friendly in Vrbovec as Jim Crawford’s side defeated five-time finalists Croatia on their home patch in a five-goal thriller.

The Young Boys in Green raced into an impressive 2-0 lead through early strikes from senior cap Andrew Moran and QPR forward Sinclair Armstrong, before Millwall’s Aidomo Emakhu added the third just minutes into the second half.

But the hosts, targeting a fourth successive Euros qualification themselves, soon pulled two back as Igor Matanović and Matija Frigan saw the Irish lead cut to the minimum with 15 minutes remaining.

Ireland remained strong at the back however and saw out the impressive victory – the first Under-21 meeting between the sides for 25 years – as the side, captained by Wolves’ Joe Hodge, prepare for a huge final four qualifiers later this year.

In 28 degree heat on the outskirts of Zagreb, Ireland came flying out of the traps as Armstrong embarked on a strong run down the left flank, doing well to fend off centre-half Maro Katinic, but the striker’s low drilled cross was well saved by Franko Kolic in the home goal.

The forward then forced strong save from the Croatian ‘keeper, as Crawford’s full-backs Sam Curtis and Sean Roughan were finding joy on both flanks early on – pushing high when in possession – while Emakhu was effective dropping deep to hold up play and allow the Irish step forward.

The Young Boys in Green were rewarded, not once, but twice for their fast start as they scored twice in two minutes with Armstrong playing key roles in both goals by the 14th minute.

The 20-year-old was played through on the right wing and in a one-on-one race with Dino Grozdanic, shrugged the Croatian defender off as if he wasn’t even there. Armstrong’s strike was parried but Moran showed great anticipation to pounce first and tap in his third U21 goal on his tenth cap.

Just seconds later, the creator turned goal scorer as, after an excellent cross by Sheffield United’s Curtis from the right, Armstrong struck from close range for his fourth goal at U-21 level.

Crawford could have hardly dreamt of a better start from his young guns as he boarded the flight to Zagreb with his side on Wednesday.

While Dragan Skocic’s charges slowly grew into the contest, in front of a small home crowd, Ireland remained comfortable, as Moran slipped Aidomo Emakhu through with a fabulous pass but the Millwall forward strayed just a fraction offside.

Blackburn defender Connor O’Riordan had to be in the right palace at the right time to shut down the run of LASK’s Marin Ljubicic, before Croatia’s star man Marin Ljubicic badly fluffed an excellent chance to half the deficit just before the break.

Armstrong raced forward again on the stroke of half-time but was beaten to the ball by two Croatian defenders inside the area, and despite the Dubliner’s protests for a penalty, the Croatian referee wasn’t interested.

It took Ireland just seven minutes to find the net again after the break as an excellent through ball by Celtic’s Bosun Lawal put Emakhu through – the 20-year-old showing quick feet to round the keeper and bag his fourth goal under Crawford on his seventh cap.

With their first shot on target of the night, Croatia pulled one back on the hour mark through forward Igor Matanovic, right before Irish trio Alex Murphy, Calum Kavanagh and Connor O’Brien were all introduced for their U-21 debuts.

On 75 minutes minutes, the hosts then cut the deficit to one as Matija Frigan struck from the penalty spot, after a soft penalty was awarded from a Matt Healy foul, but the visitors held on for an important victory, and will be pleased to have limited the Croatians to so few clear-cut chances.

Ahead of Tuesday’s clash with England’s Under-20s, the final test before Ireland’s massive four-match qualifying run-in begins in September, for now, Crawford’s men have made the perfect start to their trip to this Balkan nation.

Croatia U21s: Kolic; Sigur (Lusavec 89), Grozdanic (Zivkovic 46), Katinic, Bukvic; Soticek, Zvonarek, Hodza (Soldo 89), Crnac (Biuk 60); Matanovic (Skaricic 77), Ljubicic (Frigan 60).

Ireland U21s: Keeley; Abankwah, O’Riordan, Garcia-MacNulty; Curtis (O’Brien 61), Lawal (Adeeko 74), Hodge (Healy 46), Moran (O’Neill 85), Roughan (Murphy 61); Emakhu (Kavanagh 61), Armstrong (Kenny 46).

Ref: F Dragasevic (Croatia).