Derry City keeper, Darren Quigley and central midfielder, Ruaidhri Higgins, have been selected to represent the Republic of Ireland Under-23 squad for a vital International Challenge Trophy match against Belgium.
Under-23 manager, Pat Fenlon, announced a 20 man squad in Dublin yesterday and the game will take place at Dalymount Park on Tuesday, October 21st next at 7.30 p.m.
With the Irish side requiring just one point from the fixture in order to qualify
for the final of the tournament, there will be a lot at stake when the Belgians arrive in Dublin later this month.
Having defeated Slovakia (2-0) and Northern Ireland (1-0) in their previous matches, the Irish team need just one point to make sure of their place in the final, where they will face either Italy or England.
The under-23 squad is made up entirely of players from the eircom League of Ireland, giving domestically-based young players an opportunity to test themselves in an international setting.
Fenlon said: “We need one point from this game to qualify for the final but we will approach the match as we do any other and go out to win it. We have lots of good attacking options in the squad. There are some real quality players in the league and I think we have picked a very impressive squad.”
The full squad is - Darren Quigley (Derrry City), Barry Murphy (Shamrock Rovers), Seamus Coleman (Sligo Rovers), Gavin Peers (Sligo Rovers), Ger O’Brian (Shamrock Rovers), Conor Kenna (UCD), Shane Guthrie (Cobh Ramblers), Conor Powell (Bohemians), Darren Murphy (Cork City), Paul Keegan (Drogheda Utd.), Killian Brennan (Bohemians), Stephen Rice (Shamrock Rovers), Stephen O’Donnell (Bohemians), John Paul Kelly (Bohemians), Gary Deegan (Bohemians), Mark Quigley (St. Pat’s Athletic), Denis Behan (Cork City), Ger Rowe (Bray Wanderers) and Jay O’Shea (Galway United).
The full article contains 315 words and appears in Journal Tuesday newspaper.
