AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth midfielder Gavin Kilkenny made a substitute appearance for the Republic of Ireland U21s on Monday evening.
The fixture at Tallaght Stadium saw the Boys in Green continue their UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualification campaign against Montenegro.
Ireland’s resulting 3-1 victory allowed them to leapfrog Sweden in group F and stay within one point of group leaders Italy, who also played and won yesterday.
A powerful Will Smallbone strike from the edge of the box gave the home side a first-half lead before Liam Kerrigan doubled it after the break.
Eight minutes on from Kerrigan’s close-range finish, Kilkenny was introduced to the action and quickly made an impact.
The Cherries man combined well with Evan Ferguson for the latter to tee up Tyreik Wright three minutes on from Kilkenny’s introduction.
Following the impressive move being finished off by Wright, Ireland had a comfortable 3-0 lead and looked set for second place in group F.
A consolation goal from Montenegro’s Viktor Dukanovic proved the only bump in the road for Jim Crawford’s side on route to victory.
Philip Billing was the only other Bournemouth player in international action on Monday as he was an unused substitute for Denmark.
The Danes picked up their second Nations League win in four days, having triumphed over France in the first game before seeing off Austria.
Courtesy of goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Jens Stryger Larsen, a 2-1 win over Ralf Rangnick’s team saw Billing and his nation move into pole position of group 1 in league A.
