O'Brien on song

EUROPEAN U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING ROUND:Rep of Ireland 1 Latvia 0

THE REPUBLIC of Ireland have progressed to the Elite phase of the Under-17 Uefa Championship qualifiers with a late win over Latvia yesterday in Albena, Bulgaria.

Supersub Aidan O’Brien struck with 60 seconds of his introduction in an 80-minute game, the Millwall youngster finishing at the far post following Brian McGroary’s free-kick.

It clinched another three points for Ireland, two days after they opened the campaign by defeating mini-group hosts Bulgaria 2-1.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Bonham (Watford), Barker (Belvedere), Bryan (A Villa), McGinty (Man Utd), Williams (A Villa), McGroary (Wolves), Sutherland (QPR), Rodgers (Chelsea), McHugh (Reading), Smith (Southend), Purdy (West Ham).

Subs: Byrne (Leicester) for Williams (40 mins), Webb (Arsenal) for Rodgers (73 mins),O’Brien (Millwall) for Purdy (77 mins).

Group Six

P W D L F APt

Rep of Ireland 2 2 0 0 3 1 6

Sweden 2 1 1 0 2 0 4

Bulgaria 2 0 1 1 1 2 1

Latvia 2 0 0 2 0 3 0

Results to date

Sweden 2 Latvia 0; Rep of Ireland 2 Bulgaria 1; Rep of Ireland 1 Latvia 0; Bulgaria 0 Sweden 0.

Remaining fixtures

Friday – Rep of Ireland v Sweden, Albena, Bulgaria, 2pm (Irish time); Latvia v Bulgaria.

• The 26 teams finishing first or second in the 13 qualifying groups – along with two third-placed sides – progress to the Elite Round. This stage, scheduled for next March, involves seven groups of four and the seven winners join Liechtenstein in the finals, scheduled for May, 2010.