On 21 September 1949 at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the home of Everton,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

were defeated 2–0 by

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in a friendly international. As a result, Ireland became the first foreign team to beat England at home. In 1953, the Hungarian team known as the ''Mighty Magyars'' defeated England 6–3, to become the second team to do so.

Previous games

During the 1940s, there were in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations—the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

-based

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became t ...

(IFA) and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

-based

Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...

(FAI). Both organisations claimed jurisdiction over the whole of

, and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era had played for both teams. The IFA XI had played

regularly since 1882, and claimed their first victory, by a score of 3–0, on English soil at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 14 February 1914, England 0 - Ireland 3; 14 February 1914 (Match summary)
/ref> 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; striker

Davy Walsh David Joseph Walsh (28 April 1923 – 14 March 2016) was an Irish footballer who played as a centre forward for, among others, Linfield, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. Walsh was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams – ...

had previously scored three times against England. The FAI XI had played England for the first time at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

on 30 September 1946. A team, featuring

Johnny Carey John Joseph Carey (23 February 1919 – 22 August 1995) was an Irish professional footballer and manager. As a player, Carey spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 195 ...

Con Martin Cornelius Joseph Martin (20 March 1923 – 24 February 2013) was an Irish footballer. Martin initially played Gaelic football for the Dublin county team before switching codes and embarking on a successful soccer career, playing for, among oth ...

and Billy Walsh, were narrowly defeated 1–0 when

Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of England' ...

scored the winner in the 82nd minute. Two days earlier, on 28 September, Carey and

Tom Aherne Thomas Aherne (26 January 1919 – 30 December 1999), also referred to as Bud Aherne, was an Irish footballer and hurler. He played football for Belfast Celtic and Luton Town and was a dual internationalist, playing for both Ireland teams � ...

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, on 5 November 1947, their team included six players—Carey, Martin, Billy Walsh, Peter Farrell,

and

Tommy Eglington Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for b ...

—who had previously played for the FAI XI. Davy Walsh scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw at

. Carey, Martin, Farrell and Walsh also played for the IFA XI in their 6–2 defeat by England at

Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...

on 10 October 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 Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...

and

Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, notable for his part in the 1953 FA Cup final (subsequently known as the " Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a hat- ...

, England fielded a strong team, including Billy Wright,

Neil Franklin Cornelius "Neil" Franklin (24 January 1922 – 9 February 1996) was an English footballer who played for Crewe Alexandra F.C., Crewe Alexandra, Hull City A.F.C., Hull City, Stockport County F.C., Stockport County and Stoke City F.C., Stok ...

Wilf Mannion Wilfrid James Mannion (16 May 1918 – 14 April 2000) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward, making over 350 senior appearances for Middlesbrough. He also played international football for England. With his blonde ...

and

. Ireland's team included just seven First Division players, but these included

who had been voted

Footballer of the Year Footballer of the Year may refer to: Association football World * FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009) * FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015) * The Best FIFA Men's Player (since 2016) Other * African Footballer of the Year * Asian Footballer o ...

in 1949. Another two Irish players,

and Tommy Moroney, like Finney, played in the English Second Division. The remaining two Irish players, goalkeeper Tommy Godwin and Tommy O'Connor both played for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

Match

Summary

The early pattern of the game saw

launch wave after wave of attacks. However Tommy Godwin was in inspired form and

and

proved to difficult for England to get past. Carey was also effective in keeping

quiet, while wing-halves Billy Walsh and Tommy Moroney gradually took the sting out of the English front line.

took the lead in the 33rd minute when

Peter Desmond Peter Desmond (23 November 1926 in Cork, Ireland – July 1990) was an Irish footballer. Desmond played for several clubs in the League of Ireland and the English League. As an international, Desmond also played for Ireland. Desmond made all f ...

, after collecting a pass from Tommy O'Connor, burst into the England penalty area and was brought down.

then converted the subsequent penalty kick. During the second half the wave of England attacks continued. Peter Harris hit the bar and Jesse Pye also went close. However Peter 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 Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. While some sources have ...

advanced, Farrell lofted the ball into the net. England's attacking line-up and defensive resilience stood out, whil
Ireland
impressed with their counter-attacking tactics and fighting spirit.

Details

Sources

*''The Boys in Green - The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Rya

References

External links

Highlights of Game at www.youtube.com Article at Republic of Ireland fansite ''Historic Day, 21 September 1949''
{{England national football team matches

Eng Eng or ENG may refer to: Language and linguistics * Eng (letter), Ŋ ŋ * En with descender, Ң ң * eng, ISO 639-3 and ISO 639-2 code for English language * Velar nasal, a phoneme People * Eng (name), a given name and surname in various cu ...

Ire Ire or IRE may refer to: Ire * Extreme anger; intense fury * Irē, the Livonian name for Mazirbe, Latvia * A town in Oye, Nigeria * ''Ire'' (album), a 2015 album by the Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive * Ire (Iliad), a town mentioned in ...

Republic of Ireland national football team matches England national football team matches 1940s in Liverpool September 1949 sports events in the United Kingdom International association football matches Ireland–United Kingdom sports relations Football in Merseyside Association football matches in England