The Republic of Ireland under-21s kicked off their European Championship qualification campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Cyprus at Buckley Park last night to extend their unbeaten record to 13 games.
Not since Ireland lost to Albania in Tirana in April of last year have the under-21s experienced defeat and, judging by performances such as last night's, it may be a while before they feel it again as they produced a professional, patient and disciplined performance against inferior opposition.
Ireland have registered victories against far tougher opposition during the current run, though rarely in competitive games, and performances like last night will give manager Don Givens plenty of confidence in his side before the tougher matches to come against the likes of Switzerland, on Tuesday, and France next month.
Against Cyprus, Ireland were rarely threatened, with the visitors failing to register a single shot on goal against goalkeeper Brian Murphy, a late replacement for the injured Wayne Henderson.
Ireland on the other hand pressed forward at every opportunity but were also patient, rarely wasting possession as they pressed and probed for an opening.
Stephen Elliott set the tone for the game after just 60 seconds when his persistence resulted in him wriggling free inside the edge of the area only for the goalkeeper to save his shot from a tight angle.
From then on, Ireland were always in control, though they needed to be patient as Cyprus defended well ensuring that the majority of Ireland's possession was outside striking range of Stelios Stylianou's goal.
The always lively Aiden McGeady fired a shot well over after 30 minutes, while Liam Kearney headed a Stephen Capper cross over the bar before Ireland's patience eventually paid off in the 34th minute when Glen Whelan grabbed his first goal at this level.
A brilliant move was started and finished by Whelan as he set Elliott free down the right flank. With no options available, Elliott delayed his pass until Whelan arrived in the box to nick the ball past defender Georgos Merkis before crashing an unstoppable drive past Stylianou.
Ireland's dominance continued after half-time. John Fitzgerald almost grabbed a goal in the 48th minute when Stylianou missed a Liam Kearney corner while Elliott was only inches away with a powerful shot from the edge of the area.
McGeady then forced a save out of the goalkeeper with a viciously curling free kick before Ireland deservedly grabbed the second goal when Fitzgerald rose highest at the far post to head home a Whelan free kick for his fourth goal in seven under-21 appearances.
And with 11 minutes remaining, Ireland added some sheen to the result when Kevin Doyle had the easiest chance of his career to head into an empty net from six inches after Darren Potter had picked him out with a cross from the right.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Murphy (Swansea City); Kelly (Tottenham Hotspur), McCarthy (Manchester City), Fitzgerald (Blackburn Rovers), Capper (Scarborough); McGeady (Celtic), Potter (Liverpool), Whelan (Sheffield Wednesday), Kearney (Cork City), Doyle (Cork City), Elliott (Sunderland). Subs: McStay (Leeds Utd) for McCarthy (65 mins), Tabb (Brentford) for Doyle (84 mins), Flood (Manchester City) for Potter (87 mins).
CYPRUS: Stylianou; Tsolakidis, Merkis, Kontoleftherou, Pelagias; Konstantinou, Nikolaou, Zachariou, Raunas; Vasiliou, Alexandrou. Subs: Charalampous for Raunas (36 mins), Ioannou for Vasiliou (55 mins), Pavlou for Konstantinou (68 mins).
Referee: Per Staberg (Norway)
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