Losing start for Purdy

West Ham United Academy forward Danny Purdy was part of the Republic of Ireland Under-17 team that went down to a 2-1 defeat by Russia on Tuesday.

The 16-year-old, who joined the Hammers from Dublin-based Crumlin United in the summer, played a full 80 minutes in Ireland's opening Syrenka Cup Group B fixture in the Polish town of Zgierz.

Ireland fell behind after just two minutes before hitting back through Queens Park Rangers' Frankie Sutherland on 13 minutes. Russia went ahead again two minutes into the second half before Purdy came within inches of scoring a later equaliser, only to see his curling shot tipped round the post by goalkeeper Isupov.

Ireland, managed by Sean McCaffrey, will take on Sweden in their second group fixture in Lodz on Wednesday before meeting either Bulgaira, Denmark, Ukraine or Denmark in their final match on Friday.

The Irish will commence their UEFA European U17 Championship qualifying campaign with Group 6 matches against Bulgaria, Latvia and Sweden in Bulgaria at the end of September.