Team Ireland’s Men’s Football Team made it a clean
sweep for the Irish in the 2019 Summer Universiade as they join the Women’s
Football Team in the Quarter Finals by topping Group A after a 1-1 draw with
Uruguay in Stadio Pinto, Caserta.
Alan O’Sullivan netted the crucial Ireland goal
after twenty minutes that sets up a clash with Russia on Tuesday 9th July back
in Caserta.
Ireland knew before kick-off that only a defeat by
two goals or more would see them eliminated from the competition and contained
possession for the South American side within their own half for most of the
game.
The opening goal came when a chipped ball by Rob
Slevin was flicked behind by the Uruguayan midfielder. The ball fell to
O’Sullivan who held off the challenges of two defenders and powered past them
to net his third goal of the tournament, his tenth goal in the Universiade.
Ireland’s lead did not last for long however when
Martin Oppenheimer got the wrong side of Sean Trimble and the DCU student would
trip the attacker as he drove into the box. Referee Rohit Saggi would point to
the spot and Santiago Pallares would coolly dispatch the penalty.
The second half followed a similar path with the
Irish happy to allow Uruguay to keep the ball in their own half whilst trying
to catch them on the counterattack. They went close on a number of occasions
with substitute Cillian Duffy striking the post with a curling effort, and
Simon Falvey also had a great opportunity to regain the lead when he beat the
offside trap and tried to lift the ball over Ferreria in the Uruguayan goal,
however the goalkeeper was alive to the situation and knocked the ball away.
Uruguay began to throw bodies forward as they tried
to keep their tournament hopes alive and paid the price when their captain
Bonaudi was shown a straight red card for body checking Falvey as the UCC
striker looked through on goal.
It’s an exit from the competition for Uruguay while
Ireland will lock horns with European opposition in Russia who they last met in
the opening game of the 2013 Universiade when the Irish defeated them 2-1 in
Kazan.
Ireland: Coffey (GK), Nugent, Manley, Slevin, Trimble (Duffy HT), Young (Noack Hofmann 73), McAlavey, Kelly, Hollywood (Quinn 70), McSweeney, O’Sullivan (Falvey 65)
