The Republic of Ireland U17 team progressed to the elite phase of the UEFA U17 Championships qualifiers with a game to spare after a 4-2 victory over Faroe Islands at Eamonn Deacy Park, Galway, Wednesday night.
Tom Mohan's side can clinch top spot in the group when they meet Scotland in Longford on Saturday evening - both sides have six points from their two games.
The Irish produced a display that mixed some attacking class with occasional defensive lapses but they thoroughly deserved the victory.
Everton's classy attacking midfielder Steven Kinsella was central to much of the best Irish attacking play.
Surprisingly it was defender Corey O'Keeffe who opened the scoring in the seventh minute when he steered home from close range after a free-kick from Jake Doyle-Hayes escaped the Faroese defenders.
The impressive Josh Barrett then produced a dangerous cross that struck a defender and rebounded back off Conor Levingston in the 12th minute but the Faroes keeper Silas Eyðsteinsson made a reaction save.
Barrett made it 2-0 in the 35th minute with a superb chipped effort after racing onto an excellent through ball from Trevor Clarke.
Four minutes later brilliance by Kinsella saw his low cross from the left wing fly across goal mouth and somehow no team-mate could turn the ball in.
The Faroes pulled one back in the 49th minute when a Pætur Petersen cross was spilled into the Ireland goal by unfortunate keeper Ross Treacy.
Kinsella looked to have made it 3-1 in the 57th minute when he curled in a cross from the right flank that ended up in the Faroes net. Levingston was flagged offside and the goal was ruled out but it did not appear to take a touch.
Ever lively Clarke had an excellent low strike tipped around an upright by keeper Eyðsteinsson in the 59th minute before Kinsella made it 3-1 nine minutes later.
Kinsella headed home at the back post from a Gerry McDonagh cross after Eyðsteinsson had initially denied McDonagh in a one-on-one situation.
Remarkably the Faroes pulled one back less than 60 seconds later when a simple ball through the Irish defence saw the ball fall to David Muller and he steered the ball home after bursting through the middle.
Ireland secured the three points in injury-time when Clarke headed home from Zach Elbouzedi's cross.
Faroe Islands: Eyðsteinsson, Olsen, Skoradal, B Petersen, Magnussen, Jacobsen, Andreasen, Samuelsen, Muller (Justinussen 80), Agnarsson (Høgnesen 76), P Petersen (Knudsen 54).
Republic of Ireland: Treacy, O'Keeffe, Lunney (C), Hanney, McCourt, Doyle-Hayes, Kinsella, Barrett (McDonagh 41), Levingston, Davis (Elbouzedi 54), Clarke (Ganiyu 83).
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (BEL).
