Ireland defeat All Whites in friendly

On a chilly night in the Aviva stadium in Dublin a young Irish team defeated New Zealand 3-1 in a friendly in front of less than 20,000 fans.

At least the fans who did turn up can say they were there to witness the international debuts for the promising 17-year old Troy Parrott and 19-year old Lee O’ Connor.

Ireland had almost all of the ball until the 29th minute when out of nowhere a great move from New Zealand was finished off by Callum McCowatt on his international debut. McCowatt plays his club football for Wellington Phoenix, who are the only New Zealand-based team to play in the Australian A league.

Photo: Stephen Gormley (Red Eye Photo Agency)

That surprise goal motivated Ireland to move up a gear and they equalised just before half time from a Derrick Willams header from a beautiful floated Robbie Brady corner.

Soon after the break the Boys in Green took the lead against the All Whites with Sean Maguire hitting a hunder bolt shot into the top right hand corner of the net for his first goal for his country.

The scoring was complete in the 74th minute when Callum Robinson made it 3-1with a great diving header from a beautiful curling ball in from the impressive Lee O’ Connor.

A confidence-boosting victory for Ireland ahead of their crucial match on Monday night at home to Denmark, where a win would see them qualify for the Euro 2020 Championships.