Ireland steamrolled by slick Swiss
Sunday, June 7, 2009
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Republic of Ireland 1-6 Switzerland
Free-scoring Switzerland will play Belgium for a place in the finals on Wednesday after putting the Irish to the sword in Tongeren.
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The Republic of Ireland suffered their second UEFA European Under-19 Championship defeat against a strong Switzerland, who set up a Group 4 decider against hosts Belgium on Wednesday with a 6-1 win in Tongeren.
Awesome scoring
After beating Sweden 3-1 in their Elite round Group 4 opener, the Swiss continued their good form, and after 30 minutes Daniel Unal opened their account with a header from a long throw. Just before the break, Raphael Koch made it 2-0 with another header, this time from a corner. Michael Lang's volley after the break added to the Swiss tally, and although Sean Scannell pulled one back for Ireland after a long solo run, Alexandre Pasche scored in the 69th and 76th minutes before Orhan Mustafi struck in the closing moments to complete an impressive Swiss display and leave Claude Ryf's side needing only a point against Belgium to progress.