Hosts eager to take chance

By Kenny Archer

Having been given the chance to figure in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals for the first time by qualifying automatically as hosts, Northern Ireland will be keen to impress on home soil this summer.

First finals
The country had previously failed to reach the final tournament at U18 and U19 level, reaching the intermediary round of the former event four times only to lose out on each occasion. Following the reclassification of the tournament as a U19 event at the start of 2001/02, Northern Ireland failed to progress beyond the qualifying round, losing out to Slovakia despite holding the Group 9 winners to a draw.

Elite round exit
The following season, Northern Ireland did clear the first hurdle on home soil, 4-0 victories against Andorra and Wales proving enough to earn second place in Group 11 behind Hungary despite a final-day defeat by the Hungarians. The Elite round proved a tougher prospect, however, as an opening draw with Georgia was followed by losses to Latvia and eventual tournament winners Italy to leave the Northern Irish bottom of Group 7.

Early disappointment
It was a similar story in the qualifying round for the 2003/04 event as Northern Ireland once again opened their campaign with a draw, 0-0 against Hungary. Home advantage could not bridge the gap on this occasion, however, as defeats by Slovenia and Romania followed to leave Northern Ireland bottom of the standings. They will be hoping for better against Germany, Greece and Serbia and Montenegro this summer.

Key players
The cream of Northern Ireland's Under-19 talent ply their trade overseas in England and Scotland, with captain Kieran McKenna a prime example. The energetic midfield player has appeared for Tottenham Hotspur FC's reserve team. In defence is McKenna's predecessor as captain Paul Hamilton, who was at Nottingham Forest FC before moving back home to Northern Irish Premier Division runners-up Linfield FC. The versatile Tony Kane, a regular in the reserves at English Premiership outfit Blackburn Rovers FC, could fill either full-back position. Thomas Stewart is likely to spearhead the attack after playing regular reserve team football for Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, although he has yet to score at U19 international level.

The scoring solution could come from two of the players who have graduated from the U17 side that made a breakthrough for Northern Ireland youth football by reaching last year's UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals in France. Attacking midfield player Michael Carville has featured for the reserves with English Premiership outfit Charlton Athletic FC while forward Michael O'Connor, who scored six goals for the U17s, is currently with Crewe Alexandra FC, who have a fine record for nurturing young talent. In goal, the choice will be between Paul Willis of Liverpool FC and Coventry City FC's Jonathan Tuffey.

UEFA European Under-19 Championship best:
Elite round 2003

Honours in UEFA Youth Competitions:
None

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