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Elliot Makes His Ireland Debut
Written by Newcastle Utd
Rob Elliot made his international debut on Sunday night but finished on the losing side as the Republic of Ireland were beaten 2-1 by Turkey
By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor
Rob Elliot made his international debut on Sunday night but finished on the losing side as the Republic of Ireland were beaten 2-1 by Turkey in Dublin.
The Newcastle United goalkeeper was missing his own stag do to go on international duty, and that decision was justified when boss Martin O'Neill handed Elliot his first senior cap.
He was called into action to beat away a shot after just 25 seconds and that provided the platform for a strong Ireland start, with Stephen Ward, Shane Long and captain John O'Shea all threatening.
But they fell behind on 17 minutes when Ahmet Ilhan Ozek headed past the helpless Elliot from close range.
Elliot was beaten again shortly before half-time by a curling Mevlut Erdinc effort, only for the referee's whistle to rule out the Turkish goal.
The visitors did finally double their lead, however, in the 75th minute when Tarik Camdal found the back of the net after a superb Oguzhan Ozyakup pass.
Stoke City's Jonathan Walters pulled one back almost immediately with a right-footed shot but Ireland were unable to push on and grab the equaliser their efforts arguably deserved.