- England v Ireland (1949)
England v Ireland. On
September 21 ,1949 atGoodison Park ,Liverpool , the home of Everton, England were defeated 2-0 by Ireland in a friendly international. As a result Ireland became the first non-UK team to beat England at home. In 1953 the legendary Hungary team known as the "Mighty Magyars" defeated England 6-3 and they became the first non-UK team to beat England at Wembley Stadium.Previous Games
During the 1940s there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the
Northern Ireland -based IFA and theRepublic of Ireland -based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole ofIreland and selected players from the whole island. As a result several notable Irish players from this era, including six who played in this game, had played for both teams. The IFA XI had played England regularly since 1882, and claimed their first victory, by three goals to nil, on English soil atAyresome Park ,Middlesbrough on14 February 1914 , [ [http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=117 England 0 - Ireland 3; 14 February 1914 (Match summary)] ] but this was only the second time England and the FAI XI had met. Despite this, several members of the FAI XI had played against England several times before while representing the IFA XI.Davy Walsh had even score three times against England.The FAI XI had played England for the first time at
Dalymount Park onSeptember 30 1946 . A team, featuringJohnny Carey ,Con Martin and Billy Walsh, were narrowly defeated 1-0 whenTom Finney scored the winner in the 82nd minute. Two days earlier, onSeptember 28 , Carey andTom Aherne had been included in the IFA XI that had been heavily defeated 7-2 by the same England side. The next time the IFA XI played England, onNovember 5 1947 , their team included six players - Carey, Martin, Billy Walsh,Peter Farrell ,Davy Walsh andTommy Eglington – who had previously played for the FAI XI. Davy Walsh scored the opening goal in a 2-2 draw atGoodison Park . Carey, Martin, Farrell and Walsh also played for the IFA XI in their 6-2 defeat to England atWindsor Park onOctober 10 1948 . Davy Walsh also scored both goals that day.The Teams
The game was used by both teams as part of their preparations for forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. Despite the absence of both
Stanley Matthews andStan Mortensen , England fielded a strong team with ten players from the English First Division. The only exception was the legendaryTom Finney . Ireland’s team included just seven First Division players, but these includedJohnny Carey who had been voted Footballer of the Year in 1949. Another two Irish players,Tom Aherne andTommy Moroney , like Finney, played in the English Second Division. The remaining two Irish players, goalkeeper Tommy Godwin andTommy O'Connor both played for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland.The Game
The early pattern of the game saw England launch wave after wave of attacks. However Tommy Godwin was in inspired form and
Con Martin ,Tom Aherne andJohnny Carey proved to difficult for England to get past. Carey was also effective in keepingTom Finney quiet, while wing-halves Billy Walsh andTommy Moroney gradually took the sting out of the English front line. Ireland took the lead in the 33rd minute whenPeter Desmond , after collecting a pass fromTommy O'Connor , burst into the England penalty area and was brought down.Con Martin then converted the subsequent penalty kick. During the second half the wave of England attacks continued. Peter Harris hit the bar andJesse Pye also went close. HoweverPeter Farrell , playing at his club Everton’s home ground, made victory certain in the 85th minute. O'Connor slipped the ball to Farrell and as the English goalkeeper Bert Williams advanced, Farrell calmly and coolly lofted the ball into the unguarded net.Match Stats
footballbox | date =
September 21 ,1949
team1 = fb-rt|England |score = 0–2|report= [http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=249 (Match summary)] |team2 = flagicon|Ireland Ireland |goals1 = |goals2 = Martin 33' (pen)
Farrell 85'|stadium =Goodison Park ,Liverpool ,England
Friendly Attendance: 51,047 Referee: Mowat (Scotland )*flagicon|England England: Williams; Mozley, Aston, Wright "(captain)", Franklin; Dickinson, Harris; Morris, Pye, Mannion, Finney.
*Coach:Walter Winterbottom
*flagicon|Ireland Ireland: Godwin; Carey "(captain)", Aherne, B. Walsh, Martin; Moroney, Corr; Farrell, D. Walsh, Desmond, O'Connor.
*Coach:ources
*"The Boys In Green - The FAI International Story" (1997): Sean Ryan [http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1851589392]
References
External links
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY5i1NBBxzU Highlights of Game at www.youtube.com]
* [http://www.soccerscene.ie/sssenior/matchdetails.php?id=45 Article at Republic of Ireland fansite]
* [http://www.toffeeandtayto.com/IrelandvEngland_1949.htm Article at Everton fansite]
* [http://www.footballpoets.org/p.asp?Id=4986 "Historic Day, September 21st 1949"]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/eng-intres40.html England International Results at Rsssf]
* [http://www.clubi.ie/fpage/history/pics/49engvire1.html Picture of Ireland team]
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