Finn Harps Under-17 player Connor O’Reilly came on as a late replacement as the Republic of Ireland Under-16s got their UEFA Development Tournament off to a winning start yesterday.
A Sean Kennedy hat-trick saw the Boys in Green defeat Northern Ireland 4-2 in Westport.
Connor Farrelly put Northern Ireland in front only for Kennedy to finish an excellent team goal just three minutes later.
Kennedy bagged his second 13 minutes into the second half and completed his hat-trick in the 68th minute.
Sub Troy Parrot netted another before Gerard Storey pulled one back.
Midfielder O’Reilly, a former Bonagee United player, has been a key member of the Harps U17 squad this year. Harps sit top of the Northern Section at the moment and left-back Marc Walsh is also included in the Irish U16 panel for this Tournament.
