Mayo man in Malta for two international friendlies

Westport native Conor Walsh played in both of Ireland's Under 18 friendlies against Malta this week.

The matches were played on the Mediterranean island and Walsh, a Sligo Rovers player, started the 0-0 draw on Tuesday and replaced Noah Jauny off the bench early on in the 7-1 victory today.

On Tuesday, Ireland had most of the possession but couldn't find a way past the woodwork, the offside flag or Malta goalkeeper Beppe Mangion.

The goals flowed for Ireland earlier today (Thursday), however. Head coach Colin O'Brien made nine changes to his Irish side following Tuesday's 0-0 draw, with Noah Jauny taking his place between the posts.

Ireland opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a smart finish by Mark O’Mahony and doubled their lead three minutes later through Michael Leddy following a clever free kick.

A shell-shocked Malta sought a quick response and were awarded a penalty midway through the half following a clash involving Jauny, who was forced off as a result. Walsh replaced the Stade Brestois man but was unable to save the resulting spot-kick, with Malta captain Jake Micallef halving the deficit.

Ireland soon resumed their dominance and restored their two-goal lead in the 31st minute, Mark O’Mahony adding his second, while second-half scores by O’Mahony (penalty), Jad Hakiki, Tom Lonergan and Alex Murphy completed an impressive win.