It was a busy night for international Imps, as all four of our players on duty were involved in key action.
The night’s headline belongs to Oisin Gallagher, who marked his first Ireland Under 21 appearance with a goal. The midfielder is currently on-loan at Boston United, but is proving to be a key player for the Pilgrims as they ease towards National League safety.
After an injury-filled year, Oisin has been given the chance at regular senior football, and while he didn’t play against Moldova earlier in the week, his late goal was enough to sink Kazakhstan Under 21 last night. He started in the middle of the park and played the whole 90 minutes, but his telling contribution came right at the end.
Sheffield United’s Sam Curtis, on loan in League Two with Chesterfield, whipped a late cross in, and Gallagher was there to head home, making the 4,000-mile journey a good one for his side.
It leaves them with slim hopes of qualifying for the 2027 tournament, but they’re still five points shy of Slovakia with just three games to play, one of those against England Under 21s.
Ivan Varfolomeev was also in action, playing 97 minutes as his side grabbed a much-needed victory against Hungary in Group H. Their chances of automatic qualification have all but gone, as Croatia moved five points clear with two to play. However, Croatia beat Turkey, the team in second, meaning Ukraine are not three points behind Turkey, with the two set to meet in September.
It didn’t involve the Imps, but the Turkey game was controversial. In the first half, Turkey had a man sent off, and as their coach argued against the decision, he slipped, banged his head, and was rushed to the hospital. His side went on to lose 3-0, keeping Ian’s hopes of participating in the Euros alive until September.
Ryan Oné also appeared for Scotland, his second outing of the international break. It was not a happy one, his side were beaten 3-0 by Portugal in a comprehensive display. Oné came on after 58 minutes, with the score already 3-0 to the hosts. Czechia put five past Gibraltar without reply, meaning Scotland are now third in the group, having played a game more, three points outside the play-off place.
Finally, our one full international was Kamil Conteh, on loan from Bristol Rovers. He’s yet to feature in a matchday squad for the Imps, but he started in Azerbaijan for his country. Booked in the 38th minute, he came off midway through the second half with his side leading 1-0. The game finished 1-1, with the hosts winning on penalties.
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