Cillian Sheridan scored as Republic of Ireland's Under-21 stars drew with Estonia in their opening qualifier.
Youngsters draw with Group leaders
Cillian Sheridan found the net as Republic of Ireland secured a draw against Estonia in the European Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign.
The Celtic striker, currently on loan at Plymouth, struck on seven minutes to cancel out Kaimar Saag's early opener to secure a valuable point.
The Republic's youngsters performed well against the current Group 2 leaders and were unlucky not to walk away with all three points.
Don Givens' side had numerous chances to take the lead in an action-packed game against the in-form Estonians.
In the end settling for a draw, the result leaves Ireland fifth in the group, six points adrift of their opponents.
Improvement
Ireland went into the game having lost their opening qualifier 3-0 at Turner's Cross in Cork back in March, and desperate for a positive result against the Estonians, who had won in Switzerland and at home to Georgia in the opening two fixtures.
But they got off to the worst possible start when, after the home side had already gone close, Saag beat Burton Albion keeper Shane Readman with only four minutes gone to get the hosts off to the perfect start.
However, it took Sheridan just three minutes to level as the Irish launched a concerted fightback.
But for all the visitors pressed forward in the search for a winner, the sides could not be separated during the remaining 83 minutes and they had to settle for a draw.
