The Ireland U21s gave themselves a great chance of qualifying for the European U21 Championships with a 3-1 victory over Montenegro at Tallaght Stadium on Monday evening.
The win moved Ireland into second in Group F, two points ahead of Sweden and one behind leaders Italy. The nine group winners, along with the best runner-up, automatically qualify for the finals in Romania and Georgia. The remaining eight runners-up will go into a playoff.
There are two crucial games remaining which will determine Ireland's fate. The first sees Sweden play Italy on Thursday, and then, in their final game of the group, Ireland play away to the Italians on June 14th.
If Sweden do not beat Italy on Thursday, then Ireland are assured of a playoff spot. Depending on the result between Sweden and Italy, Jim Crawford's team could still qualify automatically.
Following Friday's 3-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Crawford called Monday's game against Montenegro the biggest in the history of the U21 team. Ireland has never qualified for a major U21 tournament.
A superb strike by Will Smallbone gave Ireland the lead shortly before half-time against Montenegro. The Southampton midfielder showed super composure before hitting a venomous strike past the keeper.
#IRLU21 1-0 Montenegro - Will Smallbone scores an absolute screamer to give Ireland the lead.
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📺 Watch - https://t.co/NVrpaW23DL pic.twitter.com/jHueGEvUep— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 6, 2022
UCD's Liam Kerrigan doubled his side's lead just over 10 minutes into the second half when he poked the ball to Montenegro net following a well worked set piece. Aston Villa's Tyreik Wright made it 3-0 in the 67th minute when he slotted home Evan Ferguson's low cross. Viktor Đukanović pulled one back for Montenegro with 15 minutes to play.
The win is Ireland's fourth consecutive victory in their qualifying group.
#IRLU21 2-0 Montenegro - Liam Kerrigan extends Ireland's lead from close range.
📱 Updates - https://t.co/DQ7qpQRcX3
📺 Watch - https://t.co/NVrpaW23DL pic.twitter.com/ESpJx9GxMN— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 6, 2022
#IRLU21 3-0 Montenegro - Tyreik Wright's silky finish makes it 3-0 to Ireland.
📱 Updates - https://t.co/DQ7qpQRcX3
📺 Watch - https://t.co/NVrpaW23DL pic.twitter.com/KBms2z3kcR— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 6, 2022
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