The Republic of Ireland U19s enjoyed an emphatic 13-0 win over Gibraltar in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Under-19 European Championship.
Tyreik Wright bagged four goals in the victory in Straßwalchen, Austria, while Lewis Richards, Jamie Bowden, Tom Cannon and Ryan Cassidy all scored their first international goals in the game. Andrew Omobamidele, Mark McGuinness and Ross Tierney also got in on the act as the youngsters proved too strong for their Gibraltar counterparts.
Ireland still need a win in their final game against Austria to be in with a chance of progressing to the Elite Round of qualifying, but this victory should see the side go into the game full of confidence.
Dominant from the start, Aston Villa man Wright opened the scoring on six minutes by following up on Alex Gilbert’s effort.
Lewis Richards struck the second on the quarter-hour mark, volleying home from close range.
Andrew Omobamidele and Jamie Bowden also found the net in the first half, with Ireland 4-0 up at the interval.
From the start of the second half Ireland continued to press for more goals, with Wright securing his hat-trick inside 54 minutes with two quick-fire second half goals.
Mark McGuinness headed in for a corner immediately after Wright’s third, and Tierney profited from a rebound for number eight.
A neat finish from Tom Cannon had the side on cloud nine, before Bowden’s second on 73 minutes put Ireland into double figures.
Not taking a backward step, Ireland scored three in the final 10 minutes with McGuinness, Wright and Cassidy all finding the net in the closing stages.
Ireland: Bohan; McEntee (C) (McGuinness 46) Omobamidele, Richards, Sobowale; Coffey (Cassidy 68), Bowden (Ebosele 90), Tierney; Wright, Cannon (Oko-Flex), Gilbert.
Gibraltar: Avellano (Hernandez 79); Bossano (Galliano 74), Vinet, Montovio (Matto 64); Parral, El Yettefi (De Haro 30), Del Rio (C), Bautista (Jones 31), Ramagge, Gracia.
Next Fixture Tuesday, November 19: Ireland v Austria, HCS Arena Nonntal, Salzburg, KO 1.30pm (Irish time)