Ireland 2 England 1
Ireland will travel home from the u16 European Championships having salvaged their pride with a notable victory over the 'ould enemy' under their belts.
Brian Kerr's kids had a disappointing tournament, losing 1-0 to Portugal in their opening game and then crashing 3-0 to tournament-favourites Russia.
But they put that behind them with a whirlwind start against England in their final group game this morning.
England didn't know what hit them as Keith Fahey scored after just five minutes and Sean Thornton made it 2-0 only six minutes later.
The second half was a different story, though. This time it was England's turn to get off to a dream start and Michael Chopra had pulled one back within two minutes of the restart.
But from their to the end, Ireland - with Paddy McCarthy outstanding in the centre of defence - defended comfortably and could have stretched their lead before the end.
May 5 - Ireland 2 England 1. Goals: Fahey 5, Thornton 11. B Murphy; Brennan, Rossiter, McCarthy, Kelly, Thornton, Fahey, Ward, Kearney, Snee, Graydon. Subs: Capper for Kearney 40 mins; D Murphy for Graydon 76. |
