Tommie Hoban captained Republic of Ireland Under-21s to a 1-0 victory over Andorra last night as Noel King’s side got their European Championship qualifying campaign off to a winning start in Waterford.

Having been deployed at left-back or left wing-back by Slavisa Jokanovic for Watford in recent games, the 21-year-old returned to the heart of the defence for the Irish and played the full 90 minutes.

With Ireland’s manager Martin O’Neill watching on, the home side were on top from the early stages but they had to wait until the 31st minute for what proved to be the only goal as a Conor Wilkinson shot forced goalkeeper Victor Silverio Pinto into a save but Kenny McEvoy reacted first to set up Dylan Connolly to make the breakthrough.

Andorra struggled to break down Ireland’s defence, although they did have a goal disallowed nine minutes from time for offside after Aaron Sanchez Alburqueque headed home.

Ireland will play the return fixture on September 8 before they take on Lithuania and Italy in back-to-back games the following month.