Almost a year after a late winner against Türkiye kicked off the Under-21s’ qualifying campaign, Sam Curtis found the legs to find another winning moment as the young Boys in Green defeated the same opponents in Istanbul 1-0.

The right wing back found himself in the penalty area in the 83rd minute to finish off a perfectly weighted pass from captain Joe Hodge as Ireland left the Turkish capital with three points.

Ireland now return to Dublin to face Latvia on Tuesday looking to record back-to-back wins and strengthen their chances of qualification to the Under-21 EUROs Finals.

SECURE YOUR SET NOW FOR IRELAND U21 V LATVIA U21

Head Coach Jim Crawford named Franco Umeh and Emmanuel Adeboyega in a matchday squad for the first time with James Abankwah stepping into the backline in the absence of Bosun Lawal.

The first chance of the game came after 13 minutes when Josh Keeley was forced into a smart save that was eventually turned away for a corner.

Türkiye settled into the game more quickly looking a danger on the overlap which kept both Curtis and Sean Roughan occupied. However this left space for Sinclair Armstrong to exploit and he frequently caused the hosts concern and midway through the first half the captain Serdar Saatçi was booked for hauling down Armstrong.

From the resulting free-kick the number 9 had a half chance to give Ireland the lead but he couldn’t get his header on target. The game settled into a rhythm with neither side giving an inch but as the fourth official put the board up for three minutes the game kicked back into life.

First Türkiye felt Curtis handled in the penalty area but the referee waved away protests then it was Ireland’s turn to ask questions when Aidomo Emakhu appeared to be felled in the area but again referee Amine Kourgheli waved play on.

In the second half Armstrong’s pace earned him a chance but the Bristol City man could only fire at Biligin. Ireland would go close again, Andrew Moran glided past several Turkish defenders and fed the ball to Emakhu - the Millwall striker would see his effort go just wide.

The visitors thought they were ahead with 20 minutes remaining when Roughan swept home a deflected effort from Hodge but the linesman had his flag up as Ireland sensed victory.

And the match-winning moment would come with seven minutes of normal time remaining. Hodge drove at the tiring Turkish backline, and produced an inch perfect pass to find Curtis. He took a touch to compose himself before applying the finish.

Türkiye threw everything at Ireland but the Irish side held out to cap off a superb display in Istanbul.

Speaking after the game Ireland Under-21 Head Coach Jim Crawford: “I’m thrilled for the staff and the players. To win any international game is a big moment but to come away from home against  a really good Turkish team, to keep a clean sheet and win, it’s fantastic for the boys.

“Now it’s about getting home, get our recovery in and preparing for Latvia which is probably the biggest game in Under-21s history.”

Türkiye: Biligin, Yildiz, Altikardes (Altunbas, 80), Saatci (C) (Güreler, 64), Ozcan, Konak (Akman, 71), Baltaci, Çanak (ince, 71), Elmaz, Burcu (Önal, 62), Hekimoglu.

Ireland: Josh Keeley, Sam Curtis, James Abankwah, Connor O’Riordan, Anselmo Garcia-MacNulty, Sean Roughan, Matt Healy, Joe Hodge, Andrew Moran, Aidomo Emakhu (Baba Adeeko 68), Sinclair Armstrong (Mark O’Mahony 77).

Referee: Amine Kourgheli (Belarus).

UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers
Ireland v Latvia
Tuesday, September 10
Tallaght Stadium
KO 17:00
LIVE on RTÉ2

SECURE YOUR SET NOW FOR IRELAND U21 V LATVIA U21