Ireland U16: Osam's squad ready for Victory Shield curtain-raiser

Republic of Ireland Under 16 head coach Paul Osam is targeting a positive start to the Victory Shield as they face Northern Ireland in their opening game.

Ireland U16: Osam's squad ready for Victory Shield curtain-raiser

Republic of Ireland Under 16 head coach Paul Osam is targeting a positive start to the Victory Shield as they face Northern Ireland in their opening game.

The Ireland U16 squad are based in Tralee, Kerry throughout the week for the tournament with Ireland's first match against Northern Ireland at Mounthawk Park, with kick-off at 6pm.

It is the first time Ireland is hosting the four-nation competition as they look for their third consecutive victory of the Victory Shield and Head Coach Osam is looking forward to the challenge.

"It's going to be a difficult week but it's a week we're looking forward to and excited about," said Osam.

"We've trained twice already and the squad is looking good. We won't know what we're like until we go out there as we've got some new players in the group but I'm confident.

"They're good players, they wouldn't be in here if they weren't. We've just got to hope they're taking on the information we give them in such a short amount of time.

"We've done the analysis and put together an extensive plan on our principles of play, so we've done all we can do as a staff and we're looking forward to getting it going tomorrow evening."

The squad began camp on Friday to prepare for the competition with the majority of the squad selected playing in the SSE Airtricity National Under 15 & Under 17 Leagues.

"We watched Northern Ireland's game against Estonia a month or so ago and they were very impressive," Osam continued.

"They've changed their style of play a little bit from what I can see but they're doing a lot of good work up there so they'll be a good outfit.

"It's fantastic to be down in Kerry for the tournament. The people have been incredibly welcoming and all of the clubs have put in a lot of work for the tournament.

"The way we've been treated here is the best I've experienced in a long time and we're really thankful for all of the efforts from the clubs to the volunteers."

Republic of Ireland U16 Squad

Goalkeepers: Josh Keely (St. Patrick's Athletic), Daniel Rose (Everton)

Defenders: Fionnan Coyle (Finn Harps), CJ Egan-Reilly (Manchester City), Oisin Hand (Shamrock Rovers), Ronan Kilkenny (Bohemians), Gavin O'Brien (Bohemians), Adam Wells (Shamrock Rovers)

Midfielders: Kailin Barlow (Sligo Rovers), Colin Conroy (Bohemians), Oran Crowe (Cork City), Jamie Doyle (St. Patrick's Athletic), Lee Harkin (Tristar Boys), Ben McCormack (St. Patrick's Athletic), Andrew Moran (Bray Wanderers)

Forwards: Sinclair Armstrong (Shamrock Rovers), Louie Barry (West Bromwich Albion), Oliver O'Neill (Fulham), Billy Vance (Bray Wanderers)

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