Andy Waterworth was keen to extract the learning and experience gleaned from a week spent with the Under-17 squad in a double header with Türkiye which produced one win and one defeat.
UEFA U17 Friendly match
Scoreline
Northern Ireland U17 0-5 Türkiye U17
Venue
Blanchflower Stadium, Belfast
Date
13 August 2024
Team News
This was the final game of the double header with Türkiye at the Blanchflower Stadium as preparation for the forthcoming European qualifiers in October. Northern Ireland have been paired with Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Lithuania.
How it happened
After a fairly quiet opening 10 minutes Türkiye came close to opening the scoring when Fatihan Kahya fired over from the edge of the box.
The visitors continued to apply pressure on the Northern Ireland goal but the defence remained resolute and made several decisive blocks to deal with the threat.
However, Türkiye did find a way through on 11 minutes when, from a corner, Oguzhan Ertem appeared to get the final touch.
Northern Ireland responded positively to going behind and appeared to have levelled less than ten minutes later when Cead McGrath forced the ball over the line but his effort was ultimately ruled out offside by the officials.
That was how it stayed until six minutes from the interval when Galatasaray midfielder Furkan Koçak turned the ball home to double the visitors advantage going in at the break.
Half-time: Northern Ireland U17 0-2 Türkiye U17
Waterworth's side matched their opponents after the restart, but another goal in the 70th minute saw Türkiye further extend their lead, before a couple of late strikes added some gloss to the scoreline.
Speaking afterwards, Waterworth was keen to take the positives from the two game series.
"After the high of Saturdays performance we were brought back down to earth today, but that’s football," he said.
"We weren’t clinical with the build up and a little bit lethargic out of possession. It was mostly the little bits of poor technique that disrupted our game.
"But it was really good learning for the team and as disappointed as we all are - when we break down the game there will a lot of elements that will help us get better as young players and coaches.
"We have a great group of players and the week has been successful. We have to be proud of Saturday's win and hungry to take the learning from today’s defeat."
Full time: Northern Ireland U17 0-5 Türkiye U17
