Northern Ireland U19s produced a spirited display as Gareth McAuley's side came up against defending champions Italy in their second UEFA U19 European Championship game at Inver Park.
Competition
UEFA U19 European Championship Group A
Scoreline
Northern Ireland U19s 0 Italy U19s 3
Scorers
Italy: Zeroli (15'), Camarda (45+2' & 48')
Venue
Inver Park, Larne
Date
18 July 2024
Team News
Gareth McAuley made four changes to the side that started against Ukraine on Monday night, with Reece Evans coming in to start up front, while Dylan Stitt and Jack Doherty lined up in midfield and George Goodman took his place in defence.
St Mirren defender Gallagher Lennon retained the captain's armband.
How it happened
After a somewhat cagey opening, as both sides sounded out the opposition, it was Italy that came closest to breaking the deadlock when, on 13 minutes, Simone Pafundi ran through the defence and along the edge of the area before seeing his shot on goal deflected over.
But, just two minutes after that, Italy did seize the advantage after a bit of a scramble in the area eventually saw Aaron Ciammaglichella knock a header forward for Kevin Zeroli to send a half-volley on the turn past Northern Ireland keeper Pierce Charles.
And the pair combined again, albeit with roles reversed, just a couple of minutes later only for Ciammaglichella to be thwarted by a timely intervention from defender Joel Thompson.
Not to be deterred Northern Ireland might have levelled midway through the first half. Blaine McClure's floated effort from wide on the left was poked towards goal by George Goodman but Italian keeper Renato Marin did well to save before the ball was scrambled to safety.
Play then switched to the other end with Charles being called into action to dive low to his right to keep out a Luca Di Maggio strike from the edge of the box.
Italy doubled their lead in first half stoppage time when, following a poor back pass from the left, Francesco Camarda pounced to fire the ball across the face of goal beyond the reach of the helpless Charles.
Half-time: Northern Ireland U19s 0 Italy U19s 2
Italy extended their advantage further early in the second half when substitute Vittorio Magni sent over a low ball from the right for Camarda to double his tally for the evening with a guided finish past Charles from the edge of the box.
Not content with that, Italy looked to add to their goal tally with Simone Pafundi coming close after just failing to connect with a whipped-in cross in front of goal before, moments after that, Marco Romano saw an effort blocked.
The chances continued with Lorenzo Anghele seeing one shot charged down with another failing to find the target.
But, continuing to show bottle, Northern Ireland had a chance to reduce the deficit with seven minutes remaining after Braiden Graham did well down the left to test Marin with a rasping effort which forced the keeper to dive at full stretch to push the ball around the post.
Northern Ireland also had a strong penalty shout in the second half when substitute Graham appeared to be hauled down inside the area.
Gareth McAuley's charges are next in action on Sunday at Seaview (kick-off 7pm) against Norway, who battled to a scoreless draw with Ukraine in the other group game earlier in the day in Belfast.
Full-time: Northern Ireland U19s 0 Italy U19s 3
Line-ups
Northern Ireland U19s: Pierce Charles, Joshua Briggs, George Goodman, Gallagher Lennon, Conor Barr, Joel Thompson, Dylan Stitt, Blaine McClure, Jack Doherty, Kieran Morrison, Reece Evans.
Substitutes: (used) Braiden Graham, Tom Atcheson, Lewis Trickett, Corey Smith, Aodhan Doherty; (unused) Mason Munn, Jack Hamilton, Daithi McCallion, Sam Glenfield.
Italy U19s: Renato Marin, Davide Bartesaghi, Fabio Chiarodia, Filippo Mane, Mattia Mannini, Luca Di Maggio, Luca Lipani, Aaron Ciammaglichella, Kevin Zeroli, Francesco Camarda, Simone Pafundi.
Substitutes: (used) Vittorio Magni, Jonas Harder, Marco Romano, Lorenzo Anghele, Diego Sia; (unused) Federico Magro, Tommaso Ebone, Christian Corradi, Filippo Pagnucco.
