England 3-1 Republic of Ireland
Four Team International Tournament
Tuesday 19 December
National Cycling Centre, Manchester

Colin McCall scored twice as England's Partially Sighted Team began the Four Team International Tournament with a 3-1 win over the Republic of Ireland.

Graham Keeley's side lost to Spain in last year's final, but the young England side took an early step towards a revenge meeting by securing an impressive victory on Tuesday night.

The first match in this year’s four day tournament saw England team start well and, after hitting the post early on in the match, McCall’s efforts paid off when he opened the scoring in the seventh minute.

But Ireland were quick to respond when Ciaran Tracey beat England keeper Ian Mackie to equalise.

Ireland managed to keep the pressure on with a superb effort coming from Patrick Coates who was proving a headache for England’s defence.

But England had chances to take a half-time lead, the best of which were three missed penalties, two of them squandered by captain Steve Daley (pictured above), who is now just one game away from 50 caps.

A heated start to the second half saw both Chris Nolan and McCall booked in the first five minutes. But England kept their cool and went 2-1 ahead through Andy Lang's superb strike which was too powerful for Ireland keeper Adam Sullivan and put The Three Lions back in front.

McCall put England further ahead moments later when, after a swift break where he went past a number of Irish shirts, he chipped the ball home to all but seal the win.

Ireland summonded up a late rally, with Tracey denied by the post. But England soaked up everything their opponents had to offer and The Three Lions held on to win.

The Lions' next outing is against Spain on Wednesday night.

England: Ian Mackie, Colin McCall, Kevin McCarthy, Nik Thomas, Andy Lang, John McDougal, Chris Nolan, Steve Daley, Janaid Khan, Ryan Kelly.

Republic of Ireland: Adam Sullivan, Ciaran Tracey, Patrick Coates, David Glynn, Stephen Vickers, Warren McDonald, Stephen Wade, Niall Durham.

Tournament schedule:

Wednesday 20 December
6pm England v Spain
8pm Republic of Ireland v Italy

Thursday 21 December
6pm England v Italy
8pm Spain v Republic of Ireland

Friday 22 December
9.30am Third place play-off
11.30am Final