Irish Soccer Players Take 5th Place in Europe

Fifth place and the Player Of The Tournament trophies were won by the Republic of Ireland Team in the European Homeless Indoor Football Championship .  

The tournament was held in Poland, 5-7 September, organised by Saint Brother Albert's Aid Society and sponsored by the City of Gdansk .                                  CLICK on Photo TO ENLARGE

The tournament progressed well for the Irish including memorable victories over Holland and Hungary.

Two crunch games with Russia and Ukraine in which Ireland lost 2-1 prevented them reaching the semi-finals and Russia went on to win the  tournament.

In the play-off for fifth place, Ireland battled to a 3-3 draw with Poland, before winning 4-1 on penalties in a match that everyone agreed was one of the most competitive and exciting of the competition.

The squad of 11 players who competed in Gdansk came through a rigorous selection process from the Irelands Issues Street Leagues and eight of them will represent Ireland in the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, 1-7 December.

'It was a great learning experience for the lads who worked really hard to get into the squad', said Dan Carey, 'we were in the toughest group and narrowly kept out of the semis by Russia, who went on to win the Championship. We went to Gdansk to get a measure of what we have to do for the World Cup in Melbourne in December. We were delighted that the Player of the Tournament trophy went to Ireland's Jimmy Bell, his work rate, intelligent play and courage embodied the core spirit of the team'.

Sean Kavanagh, founder of Ireland’s Issues Street Leagues paid tribute to all involved with the Irish team, ‘they can be very proud of what they achieved here, this was an extremely tough competition and to have one of our players win the player of the tournament augurs well for the World Cup in Australia  

Republic of Ireland squad:  Pat Boyle, Dean Moore, Paul Farrell, Jimmy Bell, Thomas Cullen, Robert Keeley, Ross Crosby, Karl Robinson, Brian Coleman, Stephen Coleman, Chris Nolan.

Management team: Dan Carey, Vernon McAllorum, John Dowling, Anthony Hill. 

Main partner: FAI (Sport For All), Main sponsor: Start Mortgages. Co-sponsor: Lifestyle Sports.

Click for Pic of Irish Squad (back, L - R) Dan Carey, John Dowling, Paul Farrell, Karl Robinson, Thomas Cullen, Dean Moore, Jimmy Bell, Ross Crosbie, Sean Kavanagh, Vernon McAlloram. (front, L-R): Brian Coleman, Robert Keeley, Stephen Coleman, Chris Nolan, Pat Boyle, Anthony Hill.