Jim Crawford relishing opportunity Italy test presents his Under-21 side

Jim Crawford has backed his battle-hardened Under-21s to bounce back from Friday's hammer blow at home to Norway in their pivotal final European qualifier in Italy.

Ireland are three points behind their hosts going into tomorrow's game in Trieste (Live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), which means a victory will send Ireland through automatically on head-to-head record, but a defeat coupled with a Norwegian win over Turkey would see the Irish squad miss out on the consolation prize of a play-off place.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport ahead of Tuesday's match, Crawford expressed his satisfaction with the scenario, regardless of Friday's sucker-punch.

"If you'd said final game in a campaign, win and you go through, you'd have taken it," he said. "It's great, it's an experience you want tte players to have."

There was a late equaliser when Italy visited Cork back in November too, but there was no greater disappointment than Norway's 93rd minute equaliser in Cork last week. In the build-up to the goal, Irish defender Anselmo Garcia MacNulty had his jersey pulled by Sindre Walle Egeli, however the referee allowed play to go on.

"It wasn't nice," admits Crawford, who preferred to focus on the things he can affect. "I thought defensively we were good for large portions of the game. In possession of the ball we could have been better. On the turnovers, we just need to get that first pass right.

"That will be crucial to us in the game tomorrow night. To concede a goal in the manner that we did, that was definitely a free kick, is a huge disappointment for everyone here. It's cost us two points, a referee's decision," he added.

"The group is still standing, that is for sure," he said as they stand on the cusp of a first major championship qualification.

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