*Man of the match Stephen Chambers pictured with Eoin Hayes at the final whistle.
EOIN HAYES scored the winning goal while captaining his country for the first time.
Newmarket-on-Fergus native Eoin was captain of the Republic of Ireland amateur side who defeated Northern Ireland in the first of a two leg encounter, played in Dungannon on Wednesday night.
Hayes struck the winning goal on thirty seven minutes in an excellent finish. The Newmarket Celtic striker has been a regular part of the national squad for the past six years and indeed has been an integral part of Gerry Davis’ side.
Their latest 1-0 follows back-to-back wins over Wales last month. Their return fixture against Northern Ireland is scheduled for Whitehall on Wednesday at 7:45pm.
Republic of Ireland: Gary Cunningham; Chris Smith, Lee McColgan, Jack McMullen, Adam Crowley, AJ O’Connor, Michael Fox, Stephen Chambers, Eoin Hayes, Eoin Murphy, Jimmy Mc Hugh
Subs: Aaron Humphreys, Garbhan Manley, Luke Casey, Shane Stritch, Brendan O’Connell, Jack Kelly
Northern Ireland: L Hunter; Alan McMurty, Jack Reilly, Dan McMurty, Sam Dinu, Richard Gowdy, Ciaran Hegarty, Brian Newell, Patrick Downey, Adam Neale, Brian McKervey.
Subs: Dean Smyth, Matthew Gorman, Matthew Devine, Aidan McNeill, Paul Maguire, Anthony Burns, Jack Rainey, Nathan Johnson, Charlie Dornan.
