Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison has been named in the Republic of Ireland Under-21 side to take on Portugal in a European Championship qualifer at Tolka Park tomorrow night. Morrison qualifies to play for the Republic through his Dublin-born grandmother, although he made Mick McCarthy and Under-21 boss Don Givens sweat before declaring his alliegance to Ireland rather than England or Jamaica for who he is also eligible.
Since declaring for the Republic, Morrison has proclaimed he is the man to eventually replace Irish striker Niall Quinn in the senior team. "Quinn is not going to be around forever and while I'd be very happy to play alongside him for Ireland I believe I can be the man to replace him," said Morrison. "I'm here to make an impact and show what I can do. I've total belief in my ability to get to the top and I know I could do a job for the full Irish team."
One man who is looking forward to seeing the Palace striker prove himself tomorrow night is Irish boss McCarthy. "We played a match between the senior squad and the Under-21 lads yesterday and Morrison and Graham Barrett were excellent up front for the youngsters. The game finished 1-1 and Morrison got the goal which gave them the lead. He looked very lively and clearly wants to prove himself. That's great for me. It is a good group that Don has, probably the best I've seen for us at this age-level. More than a few of them look capable of coming through to the senior side at some stage and Morrison might be one of them," he said.
The Irish Under-21s must win all four of their remaining qualifiers to reach the European finals. For tomorrow's match, Under-21 captain Barry Quinn will line out at right-back while Celtic's Colin Healy will take over in the centre of midfield.
Under-21 team: Murphy (Tranmere), B Quinn (Coventry), O'Shea (Man Utd), O'Brien (Newcastle), Clarke (Stoke), Byrne (West Ham), O'Connor (Stoke), Healy (Celtic), Reid (Millwall), Barrett (Arsenal), Morrison (Crystal Palace).
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
