Football | Ireland and Senegal draw in Dublin

The Republic of Ireland have drawn 1-1 with Senegal in an international friendly at the Aviva Stadium.

Kasey McAteer gave the Boys in Green the lead on his first senior international start with a clever finish in the 21st minute, before Ismaila Sarr earned Senegal a draw with an equaliser eight minutes from time.

McAteer was named man of the match after an eye-catching performance in front of a disappointing crowd of just 32,478 and the Leicester City winger expressed his delight afterwards.

"I think you can tell by my celebrations it was like a dream come through," he told RTÉ Sport.

"It was my first night here at the Aviva, hopefully many more to come, but I wanted to get myself on the scoresheet, pity we couldn’t hold on for the result but Senegal are a really good team and we’ll take it in our stride."

Next up for Heimir Hallgrimsson's men is Tuesday's friendly against Luxembourg.

Match report

Hallgrimsson handed McAteer and Jack Taylor their first starts for the visit of Senegal, who have now extended their unbeaten run to 21 matches.

Caoimhín Kelleher started in goal, behind a back four of Matt Doherty, Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea, and Robbie Brady. Kasey McAteer and Ryan Manning operated on either flank, with Taylor joining Jason Knight and Will Smallbone in the middle, behind lone striker Adam Idah.

Senegal, ranked 19th in the world by FIFA, named an experimental team for the friendly in Dublin, making nine changes from their recent World Cup qualifying win over Togo.

McAteer made a bright start in Dublin, dribbling down the wing and floating a cross into the box early on.

Senegal won the game's first corner, which was almost diverted into his own net by O'Shea. Luckily for Ireland, the ball drifted wide of the post.

McAteer floated a dangerous cross into the box in the 12th minue after one of many excellent cross-field passes from O'Shea out to the right flank, but Taylor mistimed his jump and failed to connect with his header. A few minutes later, Smallbone arrived on to a loose ball and attempted an audacious outside-of-the-boot volley which skewed well off target as Ireland pushed for a breakthrough.

23-year-old McAteer gave the hosts the lead in the 21st minute with an improvised finish. His initial header from Collins' flick-on produced a stunning save from Yehvann Diouf, but McAteer reacted quickly to control the ball with his back to goal and fire the ball into the net from six yards.

Ireland continued to build momentum without creating too many clear cut opportunites. At the other end, Antoine Mendy's strike was wildly off target. The Boys in Green went into the break after a comfortable half with plenty of positives.

Southampton midfielder Smallbone had a glorious opportunity to double Ireland's lead in the second half, but his shot was saved by Diouf, and Mendy was on hand to block Manning's follow-up.

Krepin Diatta produced a stunning save from Kelleher at the other end, with the Irish 'keeper tipping Diatta's looping header onto the crossbar after a good run and cross by Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra.

Both sides made changes on the hour mark. Evan Ferguson replaced Taylor for Ireland, while Senegal introduced lively duo Lamine Camara and Ismaila Sarr. Camara went close soon afterwards, his shot deflecting onto the post as Senegal pushed for an equaliser.

St Mirren's Killian Phillips was handed his international debut in the 67th minute, replacing Doherty. Smallbone and McAteer were replaced by Andrew Moran and Festy Ebosele with 10 minutes remaining as Ireland sought to protect their lead, but Senegal found their breakthrough a moment later.

Crystal Palace winger Sarr was in the right place at the right time at the back post to prod home a rebound after Kelleher saved Cherif Ndiaye's initial effort. Senegal then had a late free kick which came to nothing, and the final whistle sounded seconds later.

Ireland: Caoimhín Kelleher; Matt Doherty (Jake O’Brien 67), Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea, Robbie Brady (Liam Scales 85); Jason Knight, Jack Taylor (Evan Ferguson 58), Will Smallbone (Andrew Moran 81), Kasey McAteer (Festy Ebosele 81) , Ryan Manning (Killian Phillips 67); Adam Idah.

Senegal: Yehvann Diouf; Antoine Mendy, Abdoulaye Seck, Abdou Diallo, Ismail Jakobs; Lamine Camara Mamadou (Cheikh Savanah 77), Krepin Diatta (Lamine Camara 63), Habib Diarra; Iliman Ndiaye, Abdallah Sima (Ismaila Sarr 63), Boulaye Dia (Cherif Ndiaye 77).