Curtis captains Republic against Spain
Ben Curtis from Navan captained the the Republic of Ireland under-15s against hosts Spain today in the opening match of an International Tournament in Spain.
Evan Ferguson from Bettystown was a substitute. The game finished 1-1 before the hosts won a developmental penalty shoot-out by 4-1.
In the first match of 2019 for Jason Donohue's side, the Head Coach gave international debuts to goalkeeper Aaron Maguire in the starting lineup, with Edwin Agbaje coming on as a second-half substitute.
Ireland took the lead on the stroke of half-time. A brilliant counter-attack saw Cian Kelly score past Spanish goalkeeper Cesar Fernandez to give the team the lead at the break.
Spain equalised through David Pecellin in the 50th-minute and under tournament rules, all drawn matches conclude with a penalty shoot-out. Tommy Fogarty scored Ireland's only penalty.
Speaking after the game, Donohue said his team impressed against a strong Spanish side.
"Our game plan worked well. We played compactly in the first half, and deserved to go in at the break in the lead. Our back four and holding players were excellent. I think all the players were, especially in our off-season."
With two more games to come this week, Donohue hopes the team will be able to cope with the demands, especially as the home-based players are in pre-season.
"We have brought a squad of 20 with us. There will be a lot of changes for the Netherlands game on Friday. The players that didn't play today will be fresh for that match", Donohue concluded.
Ireland play their second match of the tournament on Friday afternoon. They play the Netherlands at 4pm (5pm Spanish time), before Sunday's concluding fixture against Hungary.
Republic of Ireland - Aaron Maguire; Tommy Fogarty, Ben Curtis (captain), Darragh Reilly, John Ryan; Glory Nzingo, Luke McGlynn, John Joe Power, Conor Campbell Michael Leddy, Cian Kelly. Subs - Ben Quinn for Campbell 36 mins, Evan Ferguson fpr Power, Edwin Agbaje for Kelly both 44m, James Mullins for McGlynn 50m, Aaron O'Reilly for Leddy 54m.
Referee - Jose Joaquin Gallego Gambin (ESP)