Alfie Wylie’s team took the lead in the game at Holm Park through a Caitlyn Hamilton goal on 5 minutes – only to see their lead cancelled out on the half-hour mark, reports irishfa.com.
Wind and rain played a part as both sides struggled to find their rhythm in the second half.
The Republic had greater possession but were unable to penetrate the Northern Ireland defence, while Chloe Orr and Brenna McPartlan went close to scoring for the home team.
In the end a 1-1 draw was a fair result, according to Northern Ireland manager Alfie Wylie.
Afterwards he said: “It was a very pleasing performance and we are now unbeaten in our last three games.
“Those three matches were against Turkey [1-1 and 1-0] and Republic of Ireland, two teams who are competing in the Elite Round stage of the UEFA U-19 Championships and are expected to progress to the finals tournament in August.
“Today was a good all-round performance from us, with good technical awareness from every player.”
Northern Ireland U-19s fly to Spain on 22nd April for a week-long training camp where they will face national club sides as they continue preparations for the 2017 finals of the UEFA U-19 Championship which will see matches played in Belfast, Lurgan, Portadown and Ballymena this August.
Photo – irishfa.com
