Punctually at half-past three the teams lined up under the supervision of Mr. Tom Robertson. Thee evening was an ideal one for an international, being fine and dry, with no sun and very little wind. The ground was in the acme of condition, and the players had every opportunity of displaying their talent.
   As usual, the opening exchanges were in favour of Ireland, but over-eagerness spoiled the efforts of the Celts. Then the Englishmen took up the running, and speedily it was seen that the representatives of the Rose meant business, as Scott was immediately called on, and only averted the danger at the expense of a corner. The Irish forwards did not seem to hang well together, the men crowding each other so much that the English defence had an easy task keeping them at bay. The combined work of the visiting forwards was very fine, and, M'Cracken and Boyle not seeming too well set on their feet, the Irish goal had several narrow escapes. A fast rush by the Irish forwards brought play to the other end. Mercer was the chief agent in this happy effort, and his swinging centre from the flag was a beauty. Connor tried to clinch matters, but Baddeley was at his post, and cleared splendidly. The English forwards broke away again, and this time found the Irish defence wanting. A really fine passing bout ended at the foot of Bache, who found no difficulty in beating Scott close in. To have England one up inside fifteen minutes was very disappointing to the crowd. But worse was to follow. The Saxon forwards were now playing rings round the home1sters, and when Common, who was shooting like a King's prizeman, found the net for the second time little surprise was felt. The Irishmen up to now were playing a long way below their proper form. Rallying, however, they forced their way down, and a goal seemed certain, when Connor was upset inside the penalty line. Strangely enough, only a free was awarded, from which nothing resulted. The game now became more interesting, Ireland asserting herself with great vigour. Mercer made things lively on the right and forced several corners, but the defence of England was too powerful, the little Manchester City man Burgess being especially conspicuous for his accurate kicking. Then England again woke up, and made another onslaught on the Irish citadel. Both Brawn and Bache, however, missed when practically presented with an open goal. The defence of Boyle was not up to the mark, but his partner, M'Cracken, had now fully recovered his form, and was a thorn in the sides of the English left wing. The welcome whistle for half-time was now heard, the score standing England 2 goals Ireland Nil.
   During the interval the opinion was general that unless the Anglos displayed better form Ireland was in for a severe thrashing. The reopening of hostilities was marked by a sensational incident. As usual, Ireland dashed off with tremendous fire, Mercer leading the van. The little Derby County man forced a corner, which he placed admirably. An English half removed the danger for a moment, but M'Cracken promptly returned, and Kirwan, fastening on, hooked the ball clear out of Baddeley's reach. It would be hard to say whether Baddeley or Kirwan was the more surprised. But it was a fine goal all the same, and the welkin got a shaking it will remember for many a day. Visions of a draw now crossed the spectators' minds, but, alas! they were soon dispelled, as the Englishmen settled down to serious work, and speedily proved their superiority in all departments. Half-backs and forwards combining with delightful precision, they simply swept down upon Scott, and Common registered the third goal with consummate ease. A spasmodic effort by Ireland led to their first real attempt at combination, but the inevitable Burgess turned up to thwart it. The attack of the Irishmen had no heart in it, and enthusiasm among the spectators was conspicuous by its absence. Once Goodall, who was but a shadow of his former self, raised Irish hopes by one of his old-time drives, but Baddeley was not to be caught again. This custodian was penalised for carrying the ball, and Goodall landed the ball in the net, but, as no one touched it en route, no score accrued. The Saxons now took the game in hand, and Scott was kept busy by Common, Bache, and Co. The Linfield keeper had, however, discarded his showy methods of the first half, and dealt ably with the rain of shots that kept poring in upon him. M'Cracken, too, was performing prodigies of valour, while Milne was also very good. But the rest of the Irishmen had shot their bolt, and the one question that remained was whether England would score again. The Saxons, however, finding the opposition so easy, somewhat overdid their passing. In the last few minutes a great number of boys crowded on to the touchlines, but luckily the game was not interfered with. The final result of a fairly interesting, but from an Irish point of view disappointing, match was then signalled.
   

IRISH RESENTMENT ——————♦—————— ENGLISH TEAM PELTED AT BELFAST

A Belfast correspondent telegraphs to-day that while the brake containing the English Association team who defeated Ireland on Saturday was leaving the ground, a shower of stones greeted the occupants of the vehicle. A stone struck Leake, of Aston Villa, on the head, inflicting a severe cut, while the other members of the team had narrow escapes. Several of the missiles were taken back to England as mementos of an unpleasant occasion.    Inquiry at the offices of the Aston Villa F.C. shows that the incident was not of a very serious nature. Mr. G. B. Ramsay says that pelting was indulged in, and that Leake was struck with some kind of missile. The injury to the old Small Heath man, however, is a mere nothing—anyhow, he went through his usual training work at headquarters this morning as if nothing at all had happened.    Some of the supporters of the game in Belfast, says another correspondent, thought it worth while to throw a large pebble at the English linesman, Mr. M. Roberts, to insult the referee, Mr. T. Robertson, by calling on him to take his coat off and help England, and to hurl clinkers and stones at the English team as they drove away from the ground. Some of these offenders were boys.

On the ground of the Cliftonville Club at Belfast, on Saturday, England gained a victory over Ireland by three goals to one. The game, which attracted about 18,000 people, was favoured with ideal weather for an important match, there being neither wind nor sunshine to interfere with the players. Ireland, who were placing an international team in the field for the first time this season, enjoyed the services of eight of the eleven that beat Scotland at Glasgow last year...
Play had not lasted long when it became evident that in the matter of skill the Irishmen were no match for their opponents, and when England scored twice in less than a quarter of an hour from the start, the game was robbed of much of its interest...
Before the interval England got the upper hand again, and although shortly after change of ends the Irishmen did obtain a goal--their first against England since the match of 1899--the visitors, half-way through the second part of the game, got through once more and so placed the issue beyond all reasonable doubt.