National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Brayden McPaul took the kick off in the first half of the match. After a rather tough play, U21 Austria's Krzysztof Marek got a free kick in the 3rd minute. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Austria's zone, Brayden McPaul stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Frederic Gschwendtner came out of the goal and Brayden McPaul tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Dominic Haug in the 5th minute of play forced U21 Ireland's goalkeeper Richard Duggan to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Brayden McPaul fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 6th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Frederic Gschwendtner having to interfere. In the 8th minute Lukas Podolski shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Richard Duggan saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 10 played minutes U21 Ireland got a freekick which was hit by Finbar Duggan. Richard Duggan showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lukas Podolski in the 11th minute of the match. When Lukas Podolski got free in front of the goal in the 13th minute he wasn't very focused and chipped the ball just over the goal. Richard Duggan was delighted since he was out of position and the ball would have got in if it had gone under the crossbar. Lukas Podolski scored 0-1 in the 15th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Richard Duggan, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. An unexpectedly hard shot by Barram Duggan in the 20th minute of play forced U21 Austria's goalkeeper Frederic Gschwendtner to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. U21 Ireland's Richard Duggan played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Dominic Haug in the 22nd minute of play. Barram Duggan might have been able to make a better finish in the 25th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Frederic Gschwendtner. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Barram Duggan ran back to his position shaking his head. In the 28th match minute, U21 Ireland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Bowie Dillon to maneuver through the defense. In the 30th minute Kim Louven shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Richard Duggan saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 Ireland's Richard Duggan played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Jan-Moritz Weisheit in the 32nd minute of play. U21 Austria's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Jan-Moritz Weisheit in the 33rd minute. A nice corner shot did that Heiko Gräber got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Richard Duggan quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. An unexpectedly hard shot by Seoirse McJon in the 37th minute of play forced U21 Austria's goalkeeper Frederic Gschwendtner to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Dominic Haug stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 51st minute Barram Duggan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Frederic Gschwendtner saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Richard Duggan came out of the goal in the 52nd minute to try and stop a shot by U21 Austria's Dominic Haug. But to his dismay, Dominic Haug quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. Brayden McPaul took the ball and in the 55 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Frederic Gschwendtner. Frederic Gschwendtner dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-2. The supporters of U21 Austria booed when U21 Ireland was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 60 match minutes in a wonderful position. Barram Duggan didn't get a good kick on the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Lukas Podolski got free with Richard Duggan in the 61st minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Frederic Gschwendtner made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Seoirse McJon in the 63rd minute of play. Dominic Haug received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 66th minute. Richard Duggan tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Richard Duggan showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lukas Podolski in the 70th minute of the match. 72 minutes into the match, U21 Austria's goal looked a bit too open when Bowie Dillon came free, but Frederic Gschwendtner reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. A collision led to U21 Ireland getting a freekick after 75 minutes play. Braoin Grant hit a great ball. U21 Austria made a substitution. Jörg Moratschke replaced Lukas Podolski. U21 Austria's Robin Schriebl was substituted for Dominic Haug. A collision led to U21 Ireland getting a freekick after 76 minutes play. Braoin Grant hit a great ball. Braoin Grant hit a great freekick 84 minutes into the match. U21 Ireland's Richard Duggan proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 88th minute of the match, managed to save U21 Ireland from getting a goal against them. The crowd rose to their feet as U21 Austria's Robin Schriebl slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Richard Duggan. That made the score 1-3 after 89 minutes of play. After a rather tough play, U21 Ireland's Bowie Dillon got a free kick in the 94th minute. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. U21 Austria walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.