Northern Ireland national under-23 football team

Northern Ireland Under-23

Nickname(s)	Green & White Army, Norn Iron
Association	Irish Football Association
Head coach	Ronnie McFall
Home stadium	Various
First colours Second colours

The Northern Ireland national under-23 football team is an association football team representing Northern Ireland featuring footballers playing in the Irish League. The team first played at this level in 2007 when entering the International Challenge Trophy for national semi-professional Under-23 sides, though previously the Northern Ireland Under-23 team offered a recognised stepping stone for all young players hoping to progress to the full Northern Ireland side.

The Original Under-23s

The original Northern Ireland Under-23 side played a total of ten matches, all but three in the 1960s. ^[1] Players to have stepped up from the Under-23 side to full international level include Pat Jennings, Bryan Hamilton, Neil Lennon and Sammy Clingan.

Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers
07-02-1962	Wales	Windsor Park, Belfast	Drew 0–0
27-02-1963	Wales	Vetch Field, Swansea	Lost 1–5	Jimmy McLaughlin
05-02-1964	Wales	Windsor Park, Belfast	Drew 3–3	Willie Irvine (2), Jimmy McLaughlin
10-02-1965	Wales	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Drew 2–2	Willie Irvine, Dave Clements
22-02-1967	Wales	Windsor Park, Belfast	Won 2–1	Vic McKinney (2)
20-03-1968	Wales	Vetch Field, Swansea	Won 1–0	Shaun Dunlop
26-03-1969	Italy	Communale Stadium, Brescia	Lost 1–2	Brendan Mullan
11-04-1989	Republic of Ireland	Dalymount Park, Dublin	Lost 0–3
15-05-1990	Republic of Ireland	Shamrock Park, Portadown	Lost 2–3	Stephen McBride, John Devine
27-04-2004	Serbia & Montenegro	Mourneview Park, Lurgan	Drew 0–0	(billed an Under 21–23 team) [2]

The New Under-23s

The Irish FA announced on 2 October 2007 that they would be entering a side in the International Challenge Trophy. ^[3] The team was selected only from players playing in the IFA Premiership and as such it is also a successor to the Irish League representative team. For the 2007–09 International Challenge Trophy the team was managed by Linfield's David Jeffrey and for the 2009-11 International Challenge Trophy by Portadown's Ronnie McFall. On both occasions Northern Ireland failed to make it beyond the group stage, and have not entered a team since.

2007–09 International Challenge Trophy

11 December 2007

Belgium U-23	2–1	Northern Ireland U-23
58 Hubert 85 Lutun	(Report)	46 Peter Thompson

Stade Luc Varenne, Tournai, Belgium

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13 May 2008

Northern Ireland U-23	0–1	Republic of Ireland U-23
	(Report)	88 Stephen Rice

Mourneview Park, Lurgan, Northern Ireland

Referee: Adrian McCourt (Northern Ireland)

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18 November 2008

Slovakia U-23	1–0	Northern Ireland U-23
10 Skutka	(Report)

Senec, Slovakia

2009–11 International Challenge Trophy

24 November 2009

Northern Ireland U-23	2–2	Wales Semi Pro
Jay Magee Daryl Fordyce	(Report)

Shamrock Park, Portadown, Northern Ireland

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11 August 2010

Northern Ireland U-23	2–0	Poland U-23
Jordan Owens Martin Donnelly	(Report)

The Showgrounds, Coleraine, Northern Ireland

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12 October 2010

Portugal U-23	2–0	Northern Ireland U-23
	(Report)

Municipal Stadium, Cartaxo, Portugal

Squad

Squad for the match against Portugal, 12 October 2010. ^[4] Clubs correct at time of call-up.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1 GK	Chris Keenan	(1987-01-27) 27 January 1987 (age 38)			Crusaders
	1 GK	Sean O'Neill	(1988-04-11) 11 April 1988 (age 36)			Dungannon Swifts
	2 DF	Chris Ramsey	(1990-05-24) 24 May 1990 (age 34)			Portadown
	3 MF	Billy Joe Burns	(1989-08-24) 24 August 1989 (age 35)			Linfield
	2 DF	Johnny Taylor	(1988-06-30) 30 June 1988 (age 36)			Glentoran
	2 DF	Jay Magee	(1988-05-04) 4 May 1988 (age 36)		1	Glenavon
	2 DF	Ross Redman	(1989-11-23) 23 November 1989 (age 35)			Portadown
	2 DF	Archie Stewart	(1989-12-03) 3 December 1989 (age 35)			Ballymena United
	3 MF	Philip Lowry	(1989-07-15) 15 July 1989 (age 35)			Linfield
	3 MF	Robert Garrett	(1988-05-05) 5 May 1988 (age 36)			Linfield
	3 MF	Jamie Mulgrew	(1986-05-06) 6 May 1986 (age 38)			Linfield
	3 MF	Stuart Dallas	(1991-04-19) 19 April 1991 (age 33)			Crusaders
	3 MF	Martin Donnelly	(1988-08-28) 28 August 1988 (age 36)		1	Crusaders
	3 MF	Michael Carvill	(1988-04-03) 3 April 1988 (age 36)			Linfield
	4 FW	Daryl Fordyce	(1987-01-02) 2 January 1987 (age 38)		1	Glentoran
	4 FW	Curtis Allen	(1988-02-22) 22 February 1988 (age 37)			Linfield
	4 FW	Jordan Owens	(1989-07-09) 9 July 1989 (age 35)		1	Crusaders
	4 FW	Darren Boyce	(1986-01-25) 25 January 1986 (age 39)			Coleraine

Competitive record

International Challenge Trophy

• 2009 - Group Stage
• 2011 - Group Stage

References

1. "List of Northern Ireland Under-23 Players and fixtures", 14 May 2008
2. Official Match Programme
3. "NI to compete for U23 silverware ", 14 May 2008
4. "U23 SQUAD ANNOUNCED", 18 December 2011

External links

• Irish FA Website