O'Brien names Ireland U17 squad for Turkey games

Colin O'Brien has named the Republic of Ireland U17 squad for two friendly internationals against Turkey in Cork next week.

The Irish will host the Turks at Turner's Cross on Tuesday, September 6 (7.30pm), then the sides will meet again at Midleton FC on Thursday, September 8 (12.00pm).

Ireland are preparing for the UEFA U17 Championships Qualifying Round which takes place in October. They travel to Andorra to take on the mini-tournament hosts, Kazakhstan and Greece with the top two progressing to the Elite Phase.  

O'Brien's side played two friendly games in Slovenia earlier this month - winning 3-1 and drawing 1-1. Turkey return to Ireland having secured two victories in Dublin against the same age-group earlier this year so a tough test is expected for the Irish.

"We worked on certain functions with the players in Slovenia earlier this month and were happy with that work so we'll be looking to build on that plus we're bringing in some more players who weren’t over in Slovenia with us," said O'Brien. 

"These are our final preparation games before the qualifiers so we'll be using these games to look at players and get the minds on the games in October.

"As a coaching staff you have to have to get the balance right. The players will want to win the games but the results next week won't have a big bearing on the qualifying tournament games. However you want to have a tournament mind-set so aspects such as attacking and defending set plays become very important.

"The players need to understand that it's a step on from the international level at U15s and U16s as you are trying to qualify. One of our goals will be to get the players good minutes on the pitch. We still have to finalise the squad for the qualifiers so there are opportunities there.

"This age group played each other back in April. Turkey are bringing most of those players with them and have real quality so it's a great challenge for our players. It's a good challenge for them but we've got to embrace that. We've got some quality ourselves and it's an opportunity to show that."

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U17 SQUAD

Brian Maher (St Patrick's Athletic)

Tom Murphy (Everton)

Sean Brennan (Belvedere)

Rowan Roache (Blackpool)

Brandon Kavanagh (Bohemians)

Dominic Peppard (Bohemians)

Aaron Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Adam Idah (Corinthians Boys)

Marc Walsh (Finn Harps)

Glen McAuley (Liverpool)

Lee O'Connor (Manchester United)

Aaron Bolger (Shamrock Rovers)

Jordan Doherty (Sheffield United)

Gavin Kilkenny (AFC Bournemouth)

Kameron Ledwidge (St Kevin's Boys)

Cian Lee (St Patrick's Athletic)  

Luke Nolan (St Patrick's Athletic)  

Conor Coventry (West Ham United)

FIXTURES

U17 International Friendly Matches

Tuesday, September 6

Republic of Ireland v Turkey, Turner's Cross (7.30pm)

Thursday, September 8

Republic of Ireland v Turkey, Knockgriffin Park, Midleton FC (12.00pm)