Sam Curtis scored the only goal as Republic of Ireland Under-21s defeated Turkey 1-0 in Istanbul on Friday to move into second place in their European Championship 2025 qualifying group.
Joe Hodge provided the pass to release Curtis who raced down the right and had time and space to confidently pick his space with a composed finish in the 85th minute.
It was a deserved victory for Jim Crawford’s side who sit two points behind group leaders Italy with three more games to play as they pursue a first-ever Euro U21 finals appearance in Slovakia next year.
The group winners and three second-place finishers will progress to next summer’s finals, with play-offs awaiting the others.
The victory completes a double over Turkey for the Republic, who won 3-2 when the sides met at Turner’s Cross, and the Irish have now won five of their last seven fixtures.
The Republic of Ireland host Latvia at Tallaght Stadium in their next qualifying game on Tuesday.
The hosts created the better chances in the first half as Ugur Kaan Yildiz’s piledriver was batted away by Josh Keeley and Metehan Baltaci went close with a long-range effort.
The visitors were much improved in the second half as Aidomo Emakhu fired over and Sinclair Armstrong twice forced the Turkish goalkeeper to make saves.
Sean Roughan had the ball in the net for the Irish but the flag rightly went up for offside.
Hodge’s strike edged the Republic ahead but that provoked a strong response from Turkey.
Hekimoglu was unable to find the net after Metehan Altunbas had hit the post with three minutes remaining and Yasin Ozcan passed up two opportunities, one deflected by Roughan and another cleared off the line.
