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U15 Squad for November 2006 games against Holland (Image courtesy of the FAI)

Manager Vincent Butler utilised the balance of his squad in this morning's second encounter with the visiting team from the Netherlands. The match provided the players with the opportunity to catch the eye and put themselves in the frame for future engagements. There were nine changes to the starting lineup and again six substitutes were introduced during the second half.

The new set of players performed admirably and should have taken the lead midway through the opening half when awarded a penalty for handball, bu the spot kick was saved by the Dutch goalkeeper. The visitors gradually began to gain some measure of control and with the half time whistle imminent, came extremely close to scoring when a header rebounded from the crossbar to safety.

The greater cohesion and experience of the Dutch players became evident during the second half and they duly took the lead on 53 minutes when a defensive header was seized upon and a driven to the net. Ireland defended stoutly for the remainder of the half but were undone again in the closing stages when a Durtch attacker was allowed too much freedom inside the penalty area and scored easily to cement their 2 nil victory.

Manager Vincent Butler, while disappointed with the result, was resonably happy with the performance of certain of his squad. Weather conditions this morning were challenging with the wind gathering pace and the greater experience and familiarity of the Dutch players was always likely to see them prosper.

Early in the new year, Vincent Butler will take an 18 player squad to Qatar in the Middle East, where they will face the local Under 16 side in three fixtures. The trip will afford those selected a further opportunity to improve and set them up for two Triangular Tournaments , to be held in Switzerland and Dublin during May 2006.

Team
Keith Wright;
Matt Doherty, Jack Carty, Rory Gartlan, Gareth Wallace;
Michael Rafter, Stephen McDonnell, Eoin Wearen, Tom O'Halloran;
Paul Whyte, Anthony Bolger

Substitutes
Ryan Kinsella for Wright - 52 minutes
Jean Biansumba for Rafter - 62 minutes
Robert Brady for Bolger - 62 minutes
Jeffrey Hendrick for O'Halloran - 74 minutes
Ethan Mannion for Whyte - 74 minutes
Sean Skelly for Wearen - 74 minutes