A selection of 18 League of Ireland players finished third in a FIFPro Tournament today in Norway as they battled to earn contracts with professional clubs in Europe.
Norway, Sweden and Finland were the other countries taking part in the competition.
Ireland lost their semi-final match 2-1 against Finland this morning.
Former Limerick player Sean Kelly scored the goal for the League of Ireland selection from the penalty spot after Daryl Kavanagh was fouled.
Mark Leech decided the third place play-off with Sweden as the ex-St Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers striker grabbed the only goal of the game in the second half.
The LOI team was selected from a number of applications to the Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland and managed by Liam Kelly.
The players were hoping to impress scouts and managers that were attending the event in Oslo and it remains to be seen if any have done enough to win deals with clubs.
The number of full-time football clubs in Ireland has decreased rapidly in the last two years, leaving several players out of work ahead of the new season.
Irish squad and their former League of Ireland club:
Goalkeepers:
Billy Brennan (UCD)
Aaron Shanahan (Longford Town)
Defenders:
Liam Burns (Dundalk)
Sean Kelly (Limerick FC)
Brian Gartland (Monaghan Utd)
Mark Rossiter (Bohemian FC)
Brian Shelley (Bohemian FC, still contracted)
Aidan Price (Shamrock Rovers)
Shaun Kelly (Dundalk)
Midfielders:
Dean Marshall (Athlone Town)
Darren Meenan (Drogheda Utd)
Bobby Ryan (Limerick FC)
Stuart Byrne (St Patrick's Athletic)
Forwards:
Mark Leech (Shelbourne)
Eamon Zayed (Sporting Fingal)
Daryl Kavanagh (Waterford Utd)
Glen Fitzpatrick (Drogheda Utd)
Karl Moore (UCD)
