MX23RW : Sunday, November 24 20:20:30| >> :600:191929:191929:

Republic of Ireland duo Gavin Bazunu and Andrew Omobamidele surpass expectations

Republic of Ireland duo Gavin Bazunu and Andrew Omobamidele surpass expectations
© Reuters
The teenagers shone as Ireland fought back to snatch a point.

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has admitted he could not have expected teenagers Gavin Bazunu and Andrew Omobamidele to shine as brightly as they did in World Cup battle with Serbia.

Bazunu pulled off a string of fine saves, several of them denying in-from Aleksandar Mitrovic the chance to add to his tally of seven goals from his sides first four Group A qualifiers.

And fellow 19-year-old Omobamidele turned in an assured display in defence and came close to snatching victory in Tuesday night's 1-1 draw in Dublin.

Manchester City keeper Bazunu, currently on loan at Portsmouth, was making his seventh appearance for Ireland, and Norwich defender Omobamidele just his second and his first start.

Kenny said: "Listen, I couldn't have predicted that Andrew and Gavin played as well as they did.

"Andrew was against Mitrovic and (Dusan) Vlahovic there, really physically powerful guys, but he just has another gear. He's so quick and his composure – the two players, Andrew and Gavin, their composure is incredible.

"But it's early days for them. Andrew has only played seven league games for Norwich. He had a great pre-season, played every minute in pre-season, and I know how highly they regard him there.

"They really do regard him highly, and he showed why tonight."

Ireland, who were devastated to lose 2-1 in Portugal last Wednesday after Cristiano Ronaldo scored two late goals to deny them a famous victory, left it late themselves this time, just as they had done to draw with Azerbaijan on Saturday.

John Egan and Shane Duffy celebrate their side's equaliser
John Egan and Shane Duffy celebrate their side's equaliser (Niall Carson/PA)

Trailing to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's 20th-minute header, they were level four minutes from time when the Serbia midfielder blasted an attempted clearance against team-mate Nikola Milenkovic and saw it ricochet into his own net.

Kenny said: "We hung in there. It was our third game in six days and it was a tough shift for the players. But they showed great spirit and they fed off the energy of the crowd.

"Gavin Bazunu kept us in it for periods because they had a lot of quality, Serbia. Gavin had a tremendous game and we got a break – and we haven't had too many of them, so we were delighted to get it.

"We're not in the business of celebrating a draw at home, but just in the context of the week... I felt we deserved at least four points from the other two games, if not six, so to only have one coming into that game was a real kick in the teeth."

ID:462709:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5787:

Click here for more stories about Andrew Omobamidele

Click here for more stories about Serbia

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny on March 24, 2021
Read Next:
Stephen Kenny not looking for assurances over his Republic of Ireland future
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Vikings
@
Bears
6pm
Lions
@
Colts
6pm
Patriots
@
Dolphins
6pm
Buccaneers
@
Giants
6pm
Chiefs
@
Panthers
6pm
Titans
@
Texans
6pm
Cowboys
@
Washington
9.05pm
Broncos
@
Raiders
9.25pm
49ers
@
Packers
9.25pm
Cardinals
@
Seahawks
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!