The U21 European Championship Play-off ended in heartbreak for Ireland U21s as they lost a penalty shoot-out to Israel.
In a tense game in Tel Aviv that was 1-1 on aggregate, it was Israel who had the better of the first half, with goalkeeper Brian Maher receiving an early yellow card for handball outside the box.
Maher was kept busy in a first half that was dominated by Israel, with clever saves to keep out Idan Gorno and Liel Abada, with the Irish defence cut apart for Adaba’s chance.
Ireland held firm to go into halftime level and came out more positive in the second half, with Aaron Connolly going close early on.
However, Israel soon found their rhythm again and should have taken the lead when when Maher made another save before Gorno missed the rebound from point blank range.
Oh my word, what a let off. Ronny Rosenthal may have competition for the greatest miss by an Israeli footballer from the unfortunate Gorno.#rtesoccer
📺 Watch - https://t.co/QGOhiL7AsI
📱 Updates - https://t.co/TMUgHTvwXK pic.twitter.com/o14vZVW7H5— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 27, 2022
Ireland needed a boost of energy from somewhere and the lively Finn Azaz looked to provide that when he came on, forcing a good save from Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz.
With nobody able to find a winner in normal time, a tense extra-time followed. While both teams looked for a winner, neither side looked like finding a winner as the play-off went to penalties.
While Conor Coventry scored Ireland’s first penalty, it would be the only one to find the net, with Evan Ferguson, Dawson Devoy and Tyreik Samuel Wright all having their penalties saved to end the campaign in heartbreak to send Israel to the European U21 Championships.
Penalty heartbreak as the Republic of Ireland Under-21s miss out on qualification for European Championships after a 3-1 shootout defeat to Israel #IRLU21 #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/rJ08slbeWZ
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 27, 2022
It was a famous performance from the Israeli keeper, who also converted a penalty.
After the match, captain Conor Coventry spoke of the team's heartbreak and wondered if the team could have capitalised on their advantage in Tallaght.
A devastated Republic of Ireland Under-21 captain Conor Coventry pays tribute to his team after their penalty play-off defeat to Israel #IRLU21 #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/aD4JpkoKQc
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 27, 2022
But it was a heartbreaking end to a campaign that showed a number of positives for Jim Crawford’s side. A number of players had bright individual campaigns, such as Ferguson, Coventry, and Will Smallbone, who will all have bright futures with the senior squad and club level.
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