The Irish Mirror
Barry Coffey looking to prolong his Armenian adventure
The midfielder made two first-team appearances for Neil Lennon’s side during pre-season trip in Austria
Mark McCadden
Barry Coffey was sent out to Armenia with Celtic’s blessing – and now he wants to prolong his stay away from the Bhoys.
The midfielder, who hails from Nenagh, made two first-team appearances for Neil Lennon’s side during their pre-season trip to Austria.
So Lennon might have been tempted to hold Coffey back from international duty.
However, the Parkhead chief was happy to hand the Tipperary native over to Ireland Under-19 boss Tom Mohan.
And a win on Sunday night against the Czech Republic would keep him in Yerevan until the semi-finals next Wednesday at the very least.
“I didn’t know if I was coming or not, because pre-season was coming to an end,” said the talented teenager.
“But I think they (Celtic) wanted me here as well, it’s a big experience for me, it brings me on. It’s good for them as well, so it’s kind of a win-win.
“It’s playing for your country, you can’t really turn down that opportunity.”
Midfielder Coffey came on in the second-half of Ireland’s defeat to France.
Despite their late heartache on Thursday night, a win against the Czechs should be enough to see the Boys in Green through to the last-four.
A draw could also be enough – if France make it three wins out of three when they take on Norway at the same time.
Confidence, according to Coffey, is high within the Irish camp.
“We’ll take positives from the (France) game as well and bring that into Sunday and hopefully go from there,” he said.
And head coach Tom Mohan added: “We are back fully focused on the Czech Republic game.
“We have watched them play in their qualifying games and both of their group games.
“We will have a gameplan in place and the players will be ready for this next challenge.
"We all know what is at stake on Sunday and this group of players are determined to get a victory on the board.
“We will not be underestimating Czech Republic, who also have everything to play for. It should be a good game and it is one that we are looking forward to.”