Sean McCaffrey's Under 17 Ireland rode their luck in Kiev with a heart stopping victory over host nation Ukraine in the opening fixture of the UEFA Championship qualifiers. In a sun drenched Valery Lobanovskiy Stadium, home to Dynamo Kiev, Ireland played second fiddle to a technically superior Ukraine throughout the majority of the first half.

Ireland started brightly enough with some decent passages of passing during the opening few minutes. In the fourth minute however, a deep cross from the right found an unmarked Ukrainian striker in the penalty area but he headed over. From that juncture onwards, Ukraine dominated proceedings with the Irish midfield trio looking out of sorts.

The home side controlled large areas of the pitch with cultured movement and passing. Fortunately, for Ireland, their strikers were not at the same pitch and goalkeeper Shane Redmond of Nottingham Forest was in inspired form. The Ukrainians had several opportunities but failed to convert until the 35th minute when another right wing cross was comfortably headed home by Dynamo Kiev striker, Volkov.

As is often the case, a team is most vulnerable after they have scored and this was again emphasised by an immediate reply from Ireland. The industrious Crystal Palace striker Tom Lyons, who had worked tirelessly across the front line, dispossessed the home centre back who was dallying on the ball, drove into the penalty area and dispatched a fine shot to the corner of the net.

Manager, McCaffrey altered the shape of the team to 4-4-2 from the commencement of the second half and Tottenham striker Terry Dixon replaced Karl Byrne of Belvedere to provide Lyons with additional support. The second half became a little fragmented and patchy with no clear cut chances at either end. Dixon lent his energy and persistence to aid Lyons and the team as a whole worked tirelessly to repel the gifted Ukrainians.

Ireland received a setback ten minutes into the half when the splendid Redmond suffered a dead leg following a collision with a Ukrainian striker and had to be replaced by Paul Skinner. The replacement goalkeeper had no real shots of menace to deal with but dealt impressively with a couple of teasing crosses. Having broken up the rhythm of the home side, Ireland began to have a greater measure of possession and a welcome draw appeared to be on the cards. With ten minutes remaining, Cillian Sheridan replaced the exhausted Lyons up front.

With the game entering added time, Donal McDermott of Manchester City played a fine ball through the old inside left channel, which Dixon chased purposefully, using his pace and strength to edge ahead of the defender inside the penalty area. The Tottenham starlet was felled and the referee from Finland, who had been excellent throughout the match, correctly pointed to the penalty spot. Following a worrying delay, Graham Carey stepped forward and calmly placed his left foot shot in the corner of the net.

The victory may have been a little fortunate on the balance of play as a whole, but nevertheless, was most welcome and vital to success in qualifying from this exacting Group 2. The Irish team had battled gamely throughout the encounter with the calm composure of Millwall defender Andrew Callaghan catching the eye at right back and the skilful McDermott providing a constant threat on the left hand side of midfield.

Ireland meet Group favourites Italy, 2-1 victors over Latvia in the other opening fixture, in the Banninkov Stadium on Thursday afternoon and victory would ensure qualification for the next Group phase.

Team:
Shane Redmond (Nottingham Forest);
Andrew Callaghan (Millwall), Gavin Donoghue (Sunderland), Garry Breen (Manchester City), Lorcan Fitzgerald (West Ham United);
Paul Cahillane (Glasgow Celtic), Michael Daly (Cherry Orchard), Graham Carey (Glasgow Celtic); Karl Byrne (Belvedere),
Tom Lyons (Crystal Palace), Donal McDermott (Manchester City).
Substitutes: Terry Dixon (Tottenham Hotspur) for Byrne 41 minutes. Paul Skinner (Glasgow Celtic) for Redmond 50 minutes. Cillian Sheridan (Belvedere) for Lyons 71 minutes.