In their first test of the June window, Crawford singled out Brighton midfielder Andrew Moran and Celtic’s Bosun Lawal for praise after both players scored their first goals for the U-21s in Blumau.
The Ireland boss believed that his team deserved to win the friendly and described his players as “outstanding” against a Ukraine team that is heading to the U-21 European Championships next week.
“If you consider the context, Ukraine, who will start their European Championships next week, were at full strength. They even included two senior internationals in their squad. I thought we were outstanding,” said Crawford following the 2-2 draw.
“We showed great character to come back twice. Andy Moran was a constant threat with some fantastic individual play and a brilliant goal as well,” added Crawford.
“And then Bosun delivered an unbelievable individual goal,” Crawford continued, praising the center-half for his stunning solo strike that equalized the match eight minutes from time.
“I was pleased to play against a team like Ukraine, who are older than our group. It was a real test for us. There’s no point in playing easy teams during this June window. In my opinion, we were the better team and created more chances.
“We were a bit disappointed not to win it. There were many excellent performances and we’re delighted with the players,” Crawford concluded.
Next up for the U-21s is a test against Kuwait’s U-22s in Bad Radkersburg on Monday, and Crawford plans to make several changes to the lineup and give other players their debuts.
“We’re going to make a lot of changes, I think that’s important,” he said ahead of their final friendly match of the June window.
“We watched Kuwait against Ukraine and they are very dangerous on the counterattack. They also have a few skilled individual players, so we need to be aware of that going into the game.
“We’ll be giving debuts to a couple of players. We take this game seriously and want to win it. We have improved with each match, starting with the victory against Iceland (2-1 win) and now the performance against Ukraine. We want to continue that and end this window with a strong performance,” Crawford explained.
Celtic’s Lawal believes that their performance against the older Ukraine team proves that the new-look U-21s are capable of taking on any nation. However, he also acknowledges the need to learn from conceding two penalties in the draw.
“I intercepted the ball, saw space, and attacked it. I went through and it was a good finish. It’s always a great feeling to score for my country, I’m thrilled,” said Lawal after earning his third U-21 cap.
“The boys did well to secure the draw. We showed that we can compete against a strong side like Ukraine, who are heading to the Euros next week. We have proven that we can take on any team we face. That’s the standard we have set, and we will continue to strive for it.
“Apart from the penalties we conceded, they didn’t create many chances. We need to learn from that and not give away sloppy goals. Otherwise, we will be punished,” Lawal concluded.
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