Gamble pays off

Cliftonville’s Oisin Gamble started all three games as Northern Ireland Under-17s booked their place in the Elite Round of European Championship qualifying.

Every Round 1 Group 8 mini tournament fixture was hosted by the Irish Football Association, with Andy Waterworth’s side playing their trio of matches at Seaview, where they defeated Scotland 3-1 last Tuesday – when Gamble set up the team’s second goal – before overcoming the Republic of Ireland by the same scoreline on Friday evening.

Despite then going down 3-1 to Lithuania on Monday, Northern Ireland finished top of their qualifying group to comfortably secure progress to the next phase, where runners-up the Republic will also feature courtesy of their superior disciplinary record over the Lithuanians.