First international goal for Andrew

Mitchell tweeted he was ‘delighted’ and ‘proud’ to get his first goal for his country after he bagged his side’s eighth goal of the game in the dying minutes of the rout.

The 20 year-old featured in all three of the U19s’ games this week, against Greece, Czech Republic and Moldova as Northern Ireland came up just short of qualifying for the last round.

Even with such a convincing win over Moldova, Stephen Robinson’s boys needed Greece to overcome the Czech Republic to go through after NI had drawn 1-1 with the Czech Republic but been beaten 2-0 by Greece last week. However, a 2-1 win for the Czechs sealed Northern Ireland’s fate as third in the group.

Glenavon player/manager Gary Hamilton was pleased with Mitchell’s efforts and is hopeful that the experience can benefit his side.

He said: “I watched Andy in the match against the Czech Republic. I did a few stats on him and he did very well.

“He was unfortunate that night because they had a man sent off and because Andy had played on his own up front for 65 minutes, they got some fresh legs on. If they had stayed with 11 men then he would have got a bit longer but he did very well.

“It’s great for his confidence and it’s very encouraging that he’s getting a starting place in a squad where most players are professionals. Hopefully he can bring that form back to Glenavon now.”