Kane Ferdinand: Might start this evening in Cyprus
The Shrimpers midfielder Kane Ferdinand came off the bench for thirty minutes of play for the Republic of Ireland Under-19's as continued their preparations for the upcoming UEFA elite stage qualifiers last Saturday by playing out a goalless draw against their Cyprus equivalents at the Tasos Markou Stadium near Larnaca.
The Irish had the better chances but it was the home country who should have taken the game when they missed a penalty near the end.
For a full report go here:
www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101648:under-19s-held-scoreless-by-cyrpus-in-friendly&catid=4:under-19&Itemid=12
Afterwards, the Ireland Head Coach Paul Doolin said: "First and foremost, it was a decent workout. Our first half performance was excellent while the second period involved a lot of substitutions by both teams and the contest was more even."
The boys in green are in action again on Tuesday when they step up to face the Under-21 team of Cypriot First Division club Paralimni FC.
Doolin continued: "I will change the team for Tuesday so that everyone here is given enough game-time to impress with the qualifiers coming up in two months' time."
So it's more than likely that Kane will start this one, while hopefully not getting injured so he can take part in the home game against Aldershot at the weekend.
REP OF IRELAND U-19: McCarey (Wolves); Doherty (Wolves), Egan (Sunderland), O'Connor (Blackburn Rovers), Williams (Aston Villa); Hendrick (Derby County), Byrne (Leicester City), Wearen (West Ham United), Forde (Wolves); Murphy (Bray Wanderers), Brady (Manchester United).
Substitutions: McGinty (Manchester United) for O'Connor, Ferdinand (Southend) for Byrne, O'Sullivan (Blackburn Rovers) for Wearen (all 60 mins), McDermott (Arsenal) for McCarey (65 mins), Tidim (FC St. Pauli) for Murphy (70 mins), Murray (Watford) for Forde (75 mins), Knight (Leicester City) for Brady (77 mins).