RONAN BOYCE made his Republic of Ireland U19 debut last night in a narrow 1-0 loss to Denmark in Sligo.
The Ramelton man replaced Alex Gilbert in the 82nd minute as Ireland fell to a slender loss at The Showgrounds.
Boyce recently made his Derry City debut, coming off the bench in the Candystripes’ 4-0 Premier Division win over Cork City at the Brandywell.
Boyce is highly rated by Derry manager Declan Devine and last night he was handed his bow in the green.
A first-half stoppage time strike by FC Kobenhavn’s Ahmed Daghim was enough to seal victory for the Danes in an even contest where both sides had their chances.
Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Conor Noß made his first appearance for Ireland while Manchester United’s Harvey Neville, who was also receiving his first call-up, was named as a substitute.
Neville did not feature. A son of former United and England player Phil Neville, he qualifies through the family of his mother, Julie (nee Killilea). His great-aunt, Maureen McFadden, lives in Carrigans.
Ireland’s best chance came just after the half-hour mark. Alex Gilbert was allowed to drift from the right into a shooting position where he unleashed a fierce left-footed drive that just missed the top corner.
It was late into the game when Ireland tested the Danish goal again. Oko-Flex weaved his way into the box, composed himself before shooting but Defreitas Hansen matched his effort with a smart save. From the resulting corner substitute George Nunn almost made an immediate impact rising to head, but it just cleared the bar for Ireland’s final threat of the match.
Former Finn Harps star Tom Mohan manages the Ireland U19s, while Milford’s Mickey McGlynn is a physio with the side.
Mohan said: “We played quite well in periods but it was a sucker punch conceding that goal on the stroke of half time, particularly as we were getting into the game.
“The attitude of the players was very good, there’s a number of very technically gifted players that showed during various periods of the game their ability and perhaps we need to show that more often.
“If we show that more often we create more chances.”
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