Holland u21 2 Ireland u21 0

Half-time substitutes Patrick Ax and Cedric van der Gun took just five minutes to make it a bad night for the Irish u21s in Nijmegan.

The two combined for Van der Gun to score Holland's opener with a simple tap-in in the 50th minute.

Until then, Don Givens' side had looked well capable of taking at least a point. They had a good spell midway through the first half in which Alan Quinn and Barry Quinn had shots saved and Michael Reddy had a strong penalty claim waved away by the Polish referee.

But the Dutch blossomed after their first goal and Ireland had 'keeper Dean Delaney to thank for keeping them in the game with a succession of good saves. Ireland's only real chance of an equaliser came from a long-range free by Barry Quinn which was inches off target.

The Irish held out until four minutes from time when Patrick Ax's 25-yard shot deflected of Stoke's Clive Clarke, giving Delaney no chance.

Holland: Ten Rouwelaar, Schuurman, Wolters, Hofland (capt), Bosschaart, Van der Schaaf, Van der Meyde, Janssen, Kuyt, Van Beelen, Bobson.
Subs: Van der Gun for Van der Meyde 46; Ax for Bobson 46; Hose for Van Beelen 81.
Unused subs: Van den Bann, Wisgerhof, Broerse, Touzani.
Goals: Van der Gun 50, Ax 86.
Booked: Hofland 65

Ireland Dean Delaney (Port Vale), Colin Healy (Celtic), Clive Clarke (Stoke City), John O'Shea (Manchester United, Jason Gavin (Middlesbrough), Barry Quinn - capt. (Coventry City), James O'Connor (Stoke City), Michael Reddy (Sunderland), Gary Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur), Alan Quinn (Sheffield Wednesday), John McGrath (Aston Villa).
Subs: Graham Barrett (Arsenal) for Doherty 78; Richie Partridge (Liverpool) for Alan Quinn 83.
Unused subs: Joe Murphy (Tranmere Rovers), Damien Lynch (Leeds United), Martin Rowlands (Brentford), Steve Hunt (Crystal Palace), Liam Miller (Celtic).
Booked: Jason Gavin 42.

Referee: Kazimir Znaydinsky (Poland)
Attendance: 4,000