Crawford confident ‘diverse’ Ireland Under-21s can keep blossoming

Uefa European Under-21 Championships qualifier: Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland, Tuesday September 7th, Stade Jos Nosbaum, Dudelange (kick-off 3pm).

Jim Crawford's Under-21 project, picking up where Stephen Kenny left off, remains on an upward curve following a 2-0 win away to Bosnia and Herzegovina last Friday.

The most compelling subplot was 16-year-old Brighton striker Evan Ferguson coming off the bench but the spread of players available to Crawford – from across European leagues like the Bundesliga, and Borussia Möchengladbach's Conor Noss to three Bohemians, including promising right-back Andy Lyons, with recent exposure to Europa Conference League action – shows how Irish football must operate in a post-Brexit world.

“Yeah it is very diverse, that’s for sure,” said Crawford, “but one thing that stands out when we are training is that nobody looks out of place.

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"Look at our domestic league and the likes of Dawson Devoy, Ross Tierney, Andy Lyons, and [Bray Wanderers goalkeeper] Brian Maher; they are all technically gifted players, with [UCD's] Colm Whelan there too.

“Nobody has looked out of place compared to the lads playing in Spain and Germany. I think that is encouraging.

“I think you saw it with the Bohemians lads in Europe at the Aviva Stadium, they really were exceptional. Of course that had an impact on me selecting them because you are looking at them playing against good European teams and teams with a real tactical approach and our players really adapted to that with relative ease.

"I know bringing them in and mixing them with the likes of Ryan Johansson and Conor Noss and Anselmo [Garcia McNulty] that there would be no gaps in terms of technical ability."

That in itself represents progress, but Gavin Kilkenny’s early season form as Bournemouth’s holding midfielder in the Championship has transferred smoothly to the international scene .

"St Kevin's Boys have this plaque in the coffee shop - Damien Duff, Robbie Brady, Jeff Hendrick, Jack Byrne, " said Kilkenny. "They always say, 'you're trying to be the next one of them'.

“So, coming through that was always the plan, to get your name up on that plaque, that’s if you make a senior international appearance obviously. I’m not there yet but that’s what you’ve got to keep aiming and striving towards.”

Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad:

Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Bury Town, on loan from Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), Daniel Rose (Schalke 04). Defenders: Ronan Boyce (Derry City), Joel Bagan (Cardiff City), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Anselmo Garcia MacNulty (Wolfsburg), Oisin McEntee (Newcastle United), Jake O'Brien (Crystal Palace), Lee O'Connor (Celtic). Midfielders: Conor Coventry (West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Ryan Johansson (Fortuna Sittard, on loan from Sevilla), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Andrew Moran (Brighton and Hove Albion), Conor Noss (Borussia Möchengladbach), Ross Tierney (Bohemians), Louie Watson (Derby County). Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Will Ferry (Crawley Town, on loan from Southampton), Joshua 'JJ' Kayode (Rotherham United), Ollie O'Neill (Fulham), Colm Whelan (UCD), Tyreik Wright (Salford City, on loan from Aston Villa).