Last-gasp Garvan rescues Irish
Irish still looking for first win in qualifying
Last Updated: October 13, 2009 10:02pm
Garvan: Late leveller
Owen Garvan's last-gasp goal earned Republic of Ireland Under 21s a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their European Championship qualifier.
The Ipswich midfielder struck three minutes into added time to cancel out substitute Fabian Frei's 57th-minute opener for the Swiss.
The Republic started brightly and went close within two minutes of kick-off when Plymouth's loan striker Cillian Sheridan tested Swiss keeper Yann Sommer with a fiercely-struck long-range effort.
James McCarthy fired just wide from distance nine minutes later after Sommer had been forced to rush from his line to intercept a woefully underhit back-pass before Sheridan could get there, and the keeper was back in action seven minutes from the break to claim Jay O'Shea's effort at his near post.
However, Ireland keeper Shane Redmond, who had earlier had to produce a fine save to keep out a Mario Gavranovic header, was rescued by the assistant referee with 21 minutes gone when striker Alessandro Ciarocchi shot home from Frank Fletscher's long pass, only to be penalised for handball.
Fletscher skied wastefully over 11 minutes after half-time, but the visitors went ahead seconds later when, after Valentin Stocker's shot had come back off the post, Ciarocchi's follow-up was blocked by Seamus Conneely and Frei tapped home the rebound.
Alan Judge and Sheridan both forced fine saves from Sommer and Judge flashed an 87th-minute piledriver across the face of goal in a frenetic finale, but Garvan rescued a point at the death with a 93rd-minute equaliser to give the home side a share of the spoils.
Tables
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group One
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lithuania U21 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Wales U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Moldova U21 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Finland U21 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | England U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | San Marino U21 | 2 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Two
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulgaria U21 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Russia U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Denmark U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Estonia U21 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Andorra U21 | 4 | 1 |
| 6 | Slovenia U21 | 0 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Three
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slovakia U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Scotland U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Georgia U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Holland U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Luxembourg U21 | 2 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Four
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bosnia U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Hungary U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Austria U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Spain U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Albania U21 | 2 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Five
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latvia U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Croatia U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Switzerland U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Ukraine U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Liechtenstein U21 | 1 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Six
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montenegro U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Romania U21 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Faroe Islands U21 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Germany U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Rep of Ireland U21 | 0 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Seven
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Greece U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Sweden U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Turkey U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Malta U21 | 1 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Eight
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azerbaijan U21 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Macedonia U21 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Israel U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Norway U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Portugal U21 | 0 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Nine
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Cyprus U21 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Italy U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Serbia U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | N Ireland U21 | 1 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Ten
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland U21 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Kazakhstan U21 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | France U21 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Armenia U21 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Belarus U21 | 2 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Eleven
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden U21 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Denmark U21 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Macedonia U21 | 2 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Twelve
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulgaria U21 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Ukraine U21 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Croatia U21 | 2 | 0 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Thirteen
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel U21 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Turkey U21 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Wales U21 | 2 | 1 |
European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group Fourteen
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France U21 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Slovenia U21 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Scotland U21 | 2 | 0 |
Owen Garvan
