Evan Ferguson.
Wed 09/28/2022, 11:00 a.m
Wed 09/28/2022, 11:30 a.m
There was bitter disappointment for Evan Ferguson and Dawson Devoy when they missed a chance to reach the European Under-21 Championship last night.
Both were involved as the Republic of Ireland were defeated 3-1 on penalties in the second leg of the qualifying play-offs for the Championship finals against Israel. If the boys in green had won it would have been the first time the Republic had reached the Euro finals, but it wasn’t to be for Jim Crawford’s young guns.
Ferguson headed a 1-1 draw for Republic in the first leg at Tallaght Stadium last Friday night but started on the bench last night at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium.
Aaron Connolly came the closest to finding the net for the Irish with a curl just sailing over it.
Both Ferguson and Devoy came on as substitutes last night but failed to help Republic score in regulation or extra time, defeating the fate of the young boys in green on penalties.
Adding to the disappointment for both players, they valiantly stepped forward to take penalties in the shootout but failed to find the net.
It was a painful realization of how cruel sport can be for both early career players.
Now both youngsters need to put the disappointment behind them, show resilience and keep working to advance in the game where knockdowns and setbacks are an occupational hazard.
Irish Republic – Mower; O’Connor, Redmond, O’Brien, Cashin (Roughan 90); Smallbone (O’Neill 106), Hodge (Devoy 59), Coventry, Lyon (Wright 84); Connolly (Ferguson 106), Tierney (Azaz 59).
Wed 09/28/2022, 11:00 a.m
Wed 09/28/2022, 11:30 a.m
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