Irish U-17s open with scoreless draw in Baku

The poor condition of the playing surface was not conducive to passing football but both teams had their chances to claim victory in their opening fixture of the three-game series.

Ireland goalkeeper Kieron Thorpe produced a number of tremendous saves to deny the Danes in the first half.

His agility proved crucial in keeping Ireland level at the break and with one of saves, he tipped the ball onto the crossbar.

Midfielder Conor McCormack drove the Irish midfield forward in the first half with his skill and energy. He was at the centre of the Irish play but chances at either end were scarce, as both teams cancelled each other out.

Ireland emerged from the half-time break as a more solid unit and controlled the second period. Ian Daly had two opportunities to find a goal but was unlucky not to score, particularly when one of his shots hit the side-netting.

Liverpool centre-back Lawerence Gaughan was making his first appearance for Ireland and he almost marked the occasion by netting the winning goal. He rose to meet a cross but his header was well saved by the Danish 'keeper.

Ireland's next opponents on Monday are hosts Azerbaijan, who beat Latvia 2-1 in the other group game played yesterday.

Irish manager Sean McCaffrey thought a draw was a fair result.

'Denmark came into this game on the back of five wins and a draw in their last six matches,' he said.

'They began strongly and had us under a lot of pressure in the first half but we survived that and I thought we were the better team in the second half.

'A draw is not a bad result for us. The main thing is that we didn't lose our first game. We can take a lot of positives from this and all the players are looking forward to the game against Azerbaijan on Monday.'

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