KEITH BRANAGAN, the Bolton goalkeeper, has been summoned to fill the vacancy caused by the withdrawal of Shay Given from next Tuesday's international against Wales at Cardiff.
Branagan, whose only other Ireland appearance was in a B game against England two years ago, gains preference over Gary Kelly for the job of providing cover for the younger member of the Kelly clan, Alan.
It is a welcome change of luck for the player who was dropped by Bolton in December and then sustained a knee injury which kept him out of training until a fortnight ago.
Ireland, admitted to the last 16 of the European under-18 championship in a lottery after finishing level on points with Denmark and Poland, will meet Norway in the second phase of the championship next month.
Ahead of the finals of the current competition in the summer, the draw for the preliminaries of the next European under-18 championship has already been made. It puts Ireland in Group Four along with Azerbaijan and Moldova. Northern Ireland are drawn with Croatia and Andorra in Group Eight.
