Defeat leaves U19s needing a win to qualify
Cyprus U19 1 Republic of Ireland U19 0
Sean McCaffrey's Republic of Ireland Under 19s suffered a massive blow to their European Championship qualification hopes today in Larnaca, as they fell 1-0 to Cyprus.
Having led the first phase Group 9 standings after their 4-0 thrashing of Andorra on Monday, the Irish came unstuck against the hosts.
After Christodoulos Kosma had opened the scoring for the Cypriots on 12 minutes, McCaffrey's side battled bravely but ultimately fell short.
Both John Paul Kelly of Liverpool and impressive Manchester United defender Paul McShane went close for the visitors but each time Nicolas Asprogenis, who signed for Serbian giants Partizan Belgrade in June, was equal to the task.
A 5-0 win for favourites Russia over Andorra means the Irish need a win in their final game on Friday against the Russians to stand a chance of qualifying.
That Tsirio stadium clash kicks-off at 1pm Irish time.
