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 Keith Ripley took the kick off in the first half of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Eduard Turčin in the 5th minute of play forced U21 Northern Ireland's goalkeeper Jack Nolan to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. U21 Northern Ireland's Jack Nolan played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Eduard Turčin in the 10th minute of play. 13 minutes into the match, U21 Croatia's goal looked a bit too open when Andy Sharpe came free, but Gabrijel Jovanovski reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 14 minutes into the match, U21 Croatia's goalkeeper Gabrijel Jovanovski had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Robin Gallacher. Jack Nolan showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ilan Mak in the 15th minute of the match. After 16 minutes U21 Northern Ireland's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Kevin De Bruyne who took care of the corner kick. U21 Croatia's Kevin De Bruyne was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Jack Nolan in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. Jack Nolan took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Eduard Turčin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Gabrijel Jovanovski made an important save on a dangerous shot by Robin Gallacher in the 21st minute. In the 22nd minute Eduard Turčin shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jack Nolan saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Gabrijel Jovanovski showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Keith Ripley in the 25th minute of the match. U21 Northern Ireland's Achraf Hakimi got a good chance for a goal in the 30th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. U21 Northern Ireland's Jack Nolan played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Trpimir Karačić in the 32nd minute of play. After 33 minutes, David Singleton mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the U21 Northern Ireland and the U21 Croatia players grew even worse after the yellow card. Kevin De Bruyne kicked well hit freekick during the 35th minute of the match. In the 36th minute, Richie Kitchen hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 46 minutes into the match, U21 Croatia's goal looked a bit too open when Keith Ripley came free, but Gabrijel Jovanovski reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line.

After a rather tough play, U21 Northern Ireland's Eric Lambert got a free kick in the 50th minute. Jack Nolan showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Vinko Papo in the 56th minute of the match. In the 60th minute, Ed Topham hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. U21 Northern Ireland made a substitution. Danny Clegg replaced Keith Ripley. A collision led to U21 Northern Ireland getting a freekick after 61 minutes play. Ed Topham hit a great ball. Gabrijel Jovanovski showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ed Bell in the 68th minute of the match. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 76th minute of the game. One of U21 Northern Ireland:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of U21 Croatia:s goal. The audience thought a goal was coming when Kevin De Bruyne got free with Jack Nolan in the 85th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Gabrijel Jovanovski took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ed Bell, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. U21 Croatia's Gabrijel Jovanovski played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ed Bell in the 89th minute of play. After a rather tough play, U21 Northern Ireland's Achraf Hakimi got a free kick in the 90th minute. Vinko Papo fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 91st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Jack Nolan having to interfere. After 94 played minutes U21 Northern Ireland got a freekick which was hit by Richie Kitchen. With an all-out effort, U21 Croatia's Jack Nolan threw himself towards the right post 95 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Vinko Papo, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. 96 minutes in the game, Vinko Papo dribbled his way through the penalty area and after maneuvering past an opponent, drilled a quick shot at the goal. The ball looked like it was going in, but it was hit a bit too hard and flew over the goal. The U21 Northern Ireland supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching U21 Croatia's performance. The match ended with a win for U21 Croatia.