Norwich City midfielder and Republic of Ireland Under 18s captain Michael Spillane scored a tournament-winning goal in Lisbon on Sunday.
Norwich City midfielder and Republic of Ireland Under 18s captain Michael Spillane scored a tournament-winning goal in Lisbon on Sunday.
Spillane's 85th-minute shot against Four Nations trophy hosts Portugal was vital for the Irish to jump to the top of the group, after Georgia beat Belgium 3-0 earlier in the day.
Republic of Ireland U18s manager Sean McCaffrey chose to push Spillane up into attack from midfield for the final 10 minutes and the move paid dividends.
Spillane's goal arrived following a three-man move which started with centre-back Brendan Maloney (Nottingham Forest) winning the ball in his own half. The defender exchanged passes with Paul Cahillane (Celtic) on the half-way line and fed Spillane who then dribbled the ball around the advancing goalkeeper before shooting into an empty net.
Spillane also scored one of two Irish goals against Belgium in the final four minutes of a 2-2 draw on Thursday.
Final standings: Ireland 7pts, Georgia 6pts, Portugal 3pts, Belgium 1pt.
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