England 2-3 Republic of Ireland

UEFA Under 19 Championship, Group B Match
Friday 26th July , Honefoss

A second half fight back from Ireland sent England out of the UEFA Under 19 championships in Norway on Friday evening.

So England bow out of the European Under-19 Championship Final tournament with a 3-2 defeat by Ireland that encapsulated both the positives and negatives of our Norwegian campaign.

Stunning attacking football saw England storm to a two-goal first half lead before callous defending and a sterling Irish fightback saw us concede a trio of second half strikes to slip to a disappointing reverse.

On the positive side, our third place finish in Group B is enough to earn qualification for next year’s World Championships and that platform may yet bring the best of the huge talents in this party who failed to make the impact that their gifts suggested they might.

And it had all started so well for Martin Hunter's side. With Carter, Thomas, Ashton, Welsh and Cooke all coming into the side, our hunger looked to be back and, after Lee Grant had kept us in the game with an excellent early save, we quickly imposed ourselves on the game.

It was a wonderfully crafted England goal which broke the deadlock on ten minutes. Stephen Cooke, who turned in an excellent first half performance, was the instigator dashing forward past two men before releasing the ball to his captain, Jermaine Jenas. In a flash 'JJ' had spotted and found Chopra with an immaculately struck crossfield ball. The Newcastle man kept the momentum going playing an intelligent ball in behind the back four with the perfect weighting to both find Carter and draw the goalkeeper from his line. It was Darren who won the race, bravely and skilfully clipping the ball home with his favourite left foot.  

This was the Birmingham man's first start of these finals and his strike and overall performance was ample evidence that he has what it takes to make an impact at international level.

With news coming through that Belgium had taken a shock lead against group leaders Germany, suddenly a spot in the final looked on. Our hopes were raised still further when Ashton notched a second on the stroke of half-time.

John Welsh dashed into the area and flicked the ball to the byline before being upended by the Irish goalkeeper Brian Murphy. With a touch of the Shearers, Ashton was straight over to pick the ball up and despatch it to the 'keeper's right with the minimum of fuss. Three goals in three games is a fine return for our number nine.

At that stage England were rampant and another slalom and strike from Cooke came close to adding a third only seconds later. This was what this England team are capable of and it had the enthusiastic Norwegian crowd in raptures.

All of which makes what happened in the second half more difficult to understand. Credit Ireland too - their spirit and desire shone out as they produced a comeback of heroic proportions.

First, Jonathan Daly, a Niall Quinn look-alike upfront, made no mistake with a penalty awarded for a push by Ryan Garry.

Then Stephen Paisley towered above the English defence to power home a header from Liam Kearney's sweetly struck centre.

With confidence high and their amazing travelling support behind them, Ireland then struck a third with the high ball into the box once again causing problems for our defence. This time it was Stephen Kelly who looped the ball home to send his team-mates into ecstatic celebrations.  

Martin Hunter responded by introducing both Carlton Cole and Jermaine Pennant and, though we laid siege to the Irish goal, it was to no avail. Indeed, Ireland might have even snatched a fourth when Michael Sheridan-Foley blazed over late on.

Our tournament was characterised by sensational attacking and sloppy defending. What can we expect at the World Championships in Spring? On this evidence, goals, goals, goals.


From Daniel Freedman in Oslo

England: Grant, Garry, Jenas (c), Johnson, Clark (Otsemobor 75), Ashton, Cooke, Thomas (Pennant 76), Chopra (Cole 76), Welsh, Carter
Subs not used: Bowditch, Hoyte, Lonerghan, O'Neil

England Goals: Carter 11, Ashton 44 (pen)
 
Northern Ireland Goals: Daly 54 (pen), Paisley 73, Kelly 74

UEFA U19 Championships- Matches