Buncrana native O’Donnell's last-gasp penalty seals win for Ireland U-15s

Donegal native Jamie O’Donnell held his nerve in the dying moments to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory for Ireland Boys Under-15s against Hungary at the FAI National Training Centre in Dublin.

The Derry City forward and former Cockhill Celtic player, who was first called up to the squad last November, coolly converted a stoppage-time penalty, making up for an earlier miss from the spot when Hungarian goalkeeper Mihály Lakos denied him.

The match had taken a frustrating turn for Ireland when Hungary struck first on the counterattack in the 58th minute. Zalán Balog raced down the right flank and delivered a cross that Ireland goalkeeper Alex Byrne got a touch to, but Ervin Bihari was quick to pounce and find the net.

Ireland responded with determination and found an equaliser 15 minutes from time. A short corner routine led to a goalmouth scramble, and Shamrock Rovers’ Maxim Afonin reacted quickest, rifling the ball home to make it 1-1.

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Just minutes later, Ireland had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Ciaran Daly was fouled inside the box. O’Donnell stepped up for the penalty but saw his effort saved brilliantly by Lakos, keeping the scores level.

Undeterred, Ireland piled on the pressure. Liam Kelly forced another fine save from the Hungarian shot-stopper, and Aydin Aliyev narrowly missed with a close-range effort as the hosts pushed for a winner.

That breakthrough finally arrived deep into injury time. Corey Fay surged towards goal, weaving past his marker before being brought down inside the area. This time, O’Donnell made no mistake, drilling his penalty low into the bottom left corner to seal the win for Ireland.

Reflecting on the match, Ireland BU15 Head Coach Jason Donohue admitted the team’s first-half performance fell below their usual standards but was pleased with the response.

“We weren’t happy with the first half, even though we had a lot of possession – we know we can do better. We made changes, which shows the depth we have in the squad, and it was great to get 20 players involved in the game.”

“Second half, we got caught on the break, which can happen at this age, but I was really pleased with the character we showed to fight back. Once we got the equaliser, the confidence grew.”

“For Jamie (O’Donnell) to step up and take the second penalty after missing the first shows great mental strength. That’s something we’re really trying to develop in these young players – character is a huge part of football.”

Ireland: Byrne (Clarke, 70’), Culleton (Ennis, 46’), Afonin, Marshall (Nicholls, 70’), O’Halloran (Nolan, 46’), O’Dwyer, Lynch (Fay, 60’), Collins (Aliyev, 60’), Zeller (Daly, 60’), Echefu (Ellis, 46’), Quinn (C) (O’Donnell, 70’)

Hungary: Lakos, Hermann, Gulyás, Bagó (C), Szeles, Bihari, Erdós, Vasiljevic, Balog, Szegedi, Takács. Substitutes: Gács, Varga, Bock, Malomsoki, Kerepeczky, Kószegi, Nadasi-Szabó