Keith Keane celebrates his goal in the recent game against  Hull City with Rowan Vine. Photo: Gareth Owen

Keith Keane made his first Under-21 start for the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday night. The Luton youngster played 90 minutes of a 1-1 draw with hosts Madeira, in the opening game of the Madeira Cup. The four team competition will see Ireland face Finland on Wednesday and Portugal on Friday, in a tournament they won last year.

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Madeira took the lead on the hour mark before Ireland deservedly pulled level with ten minutes to go through Reading's Jonathon Hayes. Shortly before the end Fulham's Michael Timlin was dismissed for a second bookable offence and Ireland had to hold on to protect the draw they had earned although they did almost snatched a dramatic late win when Anthony Stokes of Arsenal hammered a shot against the underside of the crossbar.

Speaking after the match Republic of Ireland U21 Manager Don Givens commented: "It was a disappointing performance, there is no point in hiding that but you must look at it in context. Many of these players were playing together for the first time and we had no time for preparation because of the week-end club games.

"Several players were playing outside of their age group and what was good was the manner in which they fought to the final whistle. We were down to ten men when we scored and overall we were the better team.  We must accept the situation when players are withdrawn and those who were brought in worked enthusiastically. We'll battle on with the players we have and work hard in training."

Ireland U21: Darren Quigley (UCD); Keith Keane (Luton Town), Richard Keogh (Bristol City), Christopher Deans (Waterford United) - sub Derek Tyrrell (Drogheda United) 61, James Hand (Huddersfield Town), Roy O'Donovan (Cork City) - sub Jonathan Hayes (Reading) 46, Gary Dicker (UCD) - sub Kevin O'Connor (Wolves) 61, Michael Timlin (Fulham), Alan O'Brien (Newcastle Utd) - sub Anthony Stokes (Arsenal) 74, Stephen Ward (Bohemians) - sub Diarmuid O'Carroll (Celtic) 46, Andy Keogh (Scunthorpe Utd).

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