Under-17 Friendly International
Ireland 2-0 Hungary
IRELAND: Sean McDermott (Arsenal); Michael Barker (Belvedere), Richard Bryan (Aston Villa), Sean McGinty (Manchester United), Carl McHugh (Reading); Daniel Purdy (West Ham United), Frankie Sutherland (QPR), Shane Byrne (Leicester City), Anton Rogers (Chelsea); David Murphy (Reading), George Smith (Southend United).
Substitutions: Neil Yadolahi (Burnley) for Barker and Kevin Knight (Leicester City) for G. Smith (both h/t), Callum Webb (Arsenal) for Rodgers (66 mins), Conor Smith (Watford) for Purdy (68 mins)
Ireland Under-17 side recorded a comfortable victory over Hungary at Tolka Park on Tuesday in the first of this week's double-header friendly.
Goals by Frankie Sutherland and Daniel Purdy gave the Irish a morale-booting result to put them in confident mood for next month's UEFA Championship elite phase qualifiers in Greece.
The shooting power of Sutherland was on show from as early as the eight minute when the Queen's Park Rangers midfielder unleashed a shot from 25 yards which sailed inches over the crossbar.
Seven minutes later, Hungary sensed an opening when the home defence retreated to allow Fejes have a pot at goal. His effort took a deflection off the outstretched leg of Irish captain Sean McGinty into the path of Laszlo Erdelyi but he sliced wide from a good position.
The Hungarians were beginning to carry the greater threat in attack and gave Ireland a couple of scares inside a minute. Bence Serfozo's effort only veered wide due to McGinty's intervention on 19 minutes and, from the resulting corner, Vecsei was unmarked at the back post but couldn't direct his header on target.
However, Ireland absorbed that pressure and took control for the remainder of the first half. On 23 minutes, they were awarded a penalty when striker David Murphy was bundled over by visiting goalkeeper David Haladas Dombo but the stopper redeemed himself by diving low to his right to keep out Daniel Purdy's spot-kick.
A minute after Ireland had an appeal for another penalty turned down as Sutherland went to ground, the midfielder fired the Irish ahead on 35 minutes.
Purdy was upended by Ferenc Toth in a central position on the edge of the area and Sutherland stepped up to curl the free-kick over the wall into the top corner past the despairing dive of Dombo.
Ireland manager Sean McCaffrey made two changes at the break, bringing on Neil Yadolahi and Kevin Knight for Michael Barker and George Smith.
Burnley full-back Yadolahi got himself in a spot of bother soon after his introduction when Patrik Vass dispossessed him on the left but the Hungarian captain was unable to match his darting run with the finish and his shot drifted past the far post.
Ireland continued to live dangerously and might have been punished for a poor clearance to the edge of the box on 55 minutes yet Laszlo Erdelyi hurried his shot which angled wide of the upright.
Irish goalkeeper Sean McDermott was called into action to save at the back post from Serfozo just past the hour but Ireland added their second on 66 minutes.
Right-winger Daniel Purdy played a one-two with David Murphy and cut into the box before firing across Dombo and into the bottom right corner.
Late on, Ireland came agonisingly close to making it 3-0 as substitute Conor Smith played in Murphy but the Reading forward couldn't keep his shot down.
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