ENGLAND WERE RATTLED for an hour as Jim Crawford’s under-21s threatened to make it a hat-trick of brilliant results for Irish teams this week.
But a controversial penalty proved their undoing in Birmingham as Divin Mubama stepped up to score – having missed one in the first half – to thwart Ireland who were hoping to follow in the footsteps of the senior side and under-17s.
Tyrique George smashed a second in the final throes to add gloss to England’s winning margin in the rain, and leave Ireland to ponder what might have been after a gutsy display that posed questions of Lee Carsley’s team throughout.
It took Ireland time to settle but once they did, they had their moments and enjoyed three or four little passages of play midway through the first-half where they had England’s defence on the turn with Trent Kone-Doherty always willing and able.
But just as Ireland were starting to get on top, they conceded a penalty when Adam Murphy caught Chelsea man George with his trailing leg on the edge of the box and Romanian referee Iuliana Demetrescu didn’t hesitate awarding the spot kick.
Mubama, the Manchester City striker on loan at Stoke City, stepped up in the hope of slotting his third goal in four games of this campaign but Ireland goalkeeper Noah Jauny had his measure, outfoxing him with a save down low to his right.
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Ireland's Noah Jauny saves a penalty from Divin Mubama of England. Michael Zemanek / INPHO
Michael Zemanek / INPHO / INPHO
England may have had more of the ball, but Ireland never shied away from the task and the more they grew in confidence, the more they showed they could hurt their hosts on the counter.
Particularly so in central areas where the downpour had saturated a part of the pitch in front of England’s defence, that made playing out from the back a perilous process.
It was bitty stuff from Crawford’s men who face Andorra away on Tuesday, but they were generating more and more forward momentum even if Arsenal goalkeeper Tommy Setford didn’t have a great deal to do before the break.
He came off his line to claim a long-range effort from Manchester United’s Jacob Devaney but while the accuracy was off, there was a lot to like about Ireland’s have-a-go approach and not much for Carsley to be pleased about.
Jad Hakiki’s arrival at half-time gave Ireland a lift and he set up Kone-Doherty for a shot that fizzed over the bar. But the Sligo Rovers midfielder then conceded a penalty approaching the hour mark, although he can feel hard done by.
Did Jad Hakiki get a heel to the ball before Lewis Hall went to ground for England's penalty? It's a close call
Hakiki was the wrong side of Lewis Hall, but got a touch before the Newcastle United ace hit the deck. The protests were waved away. This time, Mubama made his mark from the spot even though Jauny went the right way and got a hand to the strike.
It was a crushing blow for an Ireland team that continued to press for a reward with Hakiki pulling the strings, Devaney shooting wide and Mark O’Mahony going close in the final throes, only for George to bury England’s second in injury-time.
FT: England U-21 2-0 Rep of Ireland U-21
Chelsea winger Tyrique George wraps up the scoring for England late on
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Gutsy Ireland U21s undone by Lee Carsley's England at St Andrew's
England 2
Ireland 0
ENGLAND WERE RATTLED for an hour as Jim Crawford’s under-21s threatened to make it a hat-trick of brilliant results for Irish teams this week.
But a controversial penalty proved their undoing in Birmingham as Divin Mubama stepped up to score – having missed one in the first half – to thwart Ireland who were hoping to follow in the footsteps of the senior side and under-17s.
Tyrique George smashed a second in the final throes to add gloss to England’s winning margin in the rain, and leave Ireland to ponder what might have been after a gutsy display that posed questions of Lee Carsley’s team throughout.
It took Ireland time to settle but once they did, they had their moments and enjoyed three or four little passages of play midway through the first-half where they had England’s defence on the turn with Trent Kone-Doherty always willing and able.
But just as Ireland were starting to get on top, they conceded a penalty when Adam Murphy caught Chelsea man George with his trailing leg on the edge of the box and Romanian referee Iuliana Demetrescu didn’t hesitate awarding the spot kick.
Mubama, the Manchester City striker on loan at Stoke City, stepped up in the hope of slotting his third goal in four games of this campaign but Ireland goalkeeper Noah Jauny had his measure, outfoxing him with a save down low to his right.
England may have had more of the ball, but Ireland never shied away from the task and the more they grew in confidence, the more they showed they could hurt their hosts on the counter.
Particularly so in central areas where the downpour had saturated a part of the pitch in front of England’s defence, that made playing out from the back a perilous process.
It was bitty stuff from Crawford’s men who face Andorra away on Tuesday, but they were generating more and more forward momentum even if Arsenal goalkeeper Tommy Setford didn’t have a great deal to do before the break.
He came off his line to claim a long-range effort from Manchester United’s Jacob Devaney but while the accuracy was off, there was a lot to like about Ireland’s have-a-go approach and not much for Carsley to be pleased about.
Jad Hakiki’s arrival at half-time gave Ireland a lift and he set up Kone-Doherty for a shot that fizzed over the bar. But the Sligo Rovers midfielder then conceded a penalty approaching the hour mark, although he can feel hard done by.
Hakiki was the wrong side of Lewis Hall, but got a touch before the Newcastle United ace hit the deck. The protests were waved away. This time, Mubama made his mark from the spot even though Jauny went the right way and got a hand to the strike.
It was a crushing blow for an Ireland team that continued to press for a reward with Hakiki pulling the strings, Devaney shooting wide and Mark O’Mahony going close in the final throes, only for George to bury England’s second in injury-time.
ENGLAND: Setford, Lewis (Small 70), Acheampong, Alleyne, Hall (Norton-Cuffy 70); Miley (Peck 75), Bellingham, Gittens (King 61); Nwaneri, Mubama (Dibling 75), George.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Jauny, McManus, Abankwah, Okagbue, Grehan, Devaney, Akachukwu (Hakiki 45), Murphy (Moorehouse 83), Lipsiuc, Kone-Doherty, Melia (O’Mahony 70)
Referee: I Demetrescu (Romania).
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