International watch: Conor Wilkinson starts in Ireland Under-21s defeat

Forward completes 90 minutes as Boys in Green suffer Euro qualifying defeat against Italy

Conor Wilkinson completed 90 minutes for Republic of Ireland Under-21s as they lost their latest 2017 UEFA European Championships qualifier at home to Italy on Thursday.

The young Boys in Green took the lead after 16 minutes courtesy of a Rolando Mandragora own goal.

However, the Italians fought back as further strikes from Marco Benassi, Lorenzo Rosetti, Alessio Romagnoli and a Darragh Lenihan own goal sealed a 4-1 defeat at RSC Waterford.

Wilkinson, who recently joined Portsmouth on loan until the end of the season, had two good chances to score himself throughout the match as Ireland looked to fight back but failed to hit the target.

The defeat leaves Ireland sitting in fourth place in Group 2 ahead of next Monday's qualifier away at Slovenia.

Read Time: 1 mins