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Results 1946-1950                           Page Last Updated 17 April 2023

Poblacht na hÉireann

 
228 vs. Éire
 
246 vs. Sweden
'B' 03 vs. Finland
247 vs. Norway
'B' 04 vs. Netherlands

previous match (122 days)
248 vs. France
249
next match (24 days)
250 vs. Wales


312 vs. Republic of Ireland
 
3.0 Music 4.0 Mrs Dale's Diary
4.15
England vs. Ireland
4.45 Music of the Masters
Wednesday, 21 September 1949
International Friendly Match
 
England
 0 Republic of Ireland 2
[0-1]
 
 
 
Goodison Park, Goodison Road, Walton, Liverpool, Lancashire
Kick-off (BST): 3.00pm.

Attendance:
'51,847'.

 
Players lost since last match
Bernard Wilkinson (28 May 1949) 71
Harry Chambers (29 June) 52
Johnny Carey won the toss
[0-1] Johnny Harris strike hits the crossbar [0-1]Con Martin penalty 32
right-footed kick "Williams stopped the ball but had the mortification of seeing it spin back over the line"
(Mozley fouled Desmond)
  [0-2] Peter Farrell 85
lobbed the ball over the advancing keeper after being set through by Tom O'Connor
last half hour live on the Radio Light Programme - Commentator: tbc
  
"ENGLAND'S DISPLAY WITHOUT A SAVING GRACE" Daily Herald
Officials England FIFA ruling on substitutes Ireland
Referee (black)
John Alexander Mowat
42/43 (1906), Rutherglen
The FIFA ruling of allowing a substitute to replace an injured player prior to the 44th minute, and a goalkeeper at any time, is in place.
  blue flag          Linesmen              red flag
John Holden Clough
39 (17 October 1909), Bolton
G. Black
 
England Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 3rd to 5th
Colours The 1949 home uniform - White collared jerseys, blue shorts, red socks.
P 5th of 43, W 2 - D 0 - L 3 - F 9 - A 10.

Captain
Billy Wright Manager Walter Winterbottom, 36 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946;
8th of 90, W 5 - D 0 - L 3 - F 22 - A 12. P 23rd of 139, W 16 - D 3 - L 4 - F 75 - A 24.
¹ Team chosen by Selection Committee headed by Arthur Drewry on Monday, 12 September, in Sheffield.
England Lineup
  three changes to the previous match (Mozley, Harris& Pye>Ellerington, Mullen & Rowley) league position (12 September)  
  Williams, Bert F. 29
233 days
31 January 1920 G Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL TOP) 2 3ᵍᵃ
14th keeper to face a penalty kick
     
687 2 Mozley, Bert 26 21 September 1923 RB Derby County FC (FL 7th) 1 0
thirtieth County player to represent England
3 Aston, John 28
18 days
3 September 1921 LB Manchester United FC (FL 2nd) 8 0
4 Wright, William A. 25
227 days
6 February 1924 RHB Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL TOP) 23 1
5 Franklin, Cornelius 27
240 days
24 January 1922 CHB Stoke City FC (FL 13th) 23 0
6 Dickinson, James W. 24
150 days
24 April 1925 LHB Portsmouth FC (FL 9th) 3 0
688 7 Harris, Peter P. 23
276 days
19 December 1925 OR Portsmouth FC (FL 9th) 1 0
eighth Portsmouth player to represent England
8 Morris, John 25
359 days
27 September 1923 IR Derby County FC (FL 7th) 3 3
final app 1949
689 9 Pye, Jesse 29
273 days
22 December 1919 CF Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL TOP) 1 0
the 22nd Wanderer to represent England only app 1949
10 Mannion, Wilfred J. 31
128 days
16 May 1918 IL Middlesbrough FC (FL 21st) 16 8
11 Finney, Thomas 27
169 days
5 April 1922 OL Preston North End FC (FL2 11th) 19 14
unused substitute: Phil Taylor (Liverpool FC (FL 4th)).
records: First foreign country (non-Home Country) to beat England on their own soil. But it must be remembered that nine of the Irish team played in England's own Football League.
The defeat ends a sequence of fifteen victorious friendly home matches that started back in 1923.
First time, post-war, that England have failed to score at home. Not since 9 April 1938 vs. Scotland, have they failed to score at home.
England were set-up in Southport prior to this match, using the Haig Avenue ground to train on.
 
2-3-5 Williams -
Mozley, Aston -
Wright, Franklin, Dickinson -
Harris, Morris, Pye, Mannion, Finney.
Averages: Age 27 years 91 days Appearances/Goals 9.1 2.4
 
Republic of Ireland Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 30th to 29th
Colours Green jerseys with white collar, white shorts, white and green hooped socks.
Captain Johnny Carey Selection Selection Committee
on Thursday, 15 September 1949.
Republic of Ireland Lineup
  Godwin, Thomas F. 22
32 days
20 August 1927 G Shamrock Rovers FC 5 7ᵍᵃ
2 Carey, John J.  30
210 days
23 February 1919 RB Manchester United FC, England 22 2
also has seven appearances for Ireland
3 Aherne, Thomas 30
238 days
26 January 1919 LB Luton Town AFC, England 4 0
also has three appearances for Ireland
4 Walsh, William R. 28
113 days
31 May 1921 RHB Manchester City FC, England 7 0
also has five appearances for Ireland
5 Martin, Cornelius J. 26
185 days
20 March 1923 CHB Aston Villa FC, England 12 3
ninth penalty against scored (19th overall) also has five appearances for Ireland
       
6 Moroney, Thomas 25
315 days
10 November 1923 LHB West Ham United FC, England 6 0
7 Corr, Peter 26
90 days
23 June 1923 OR Everton FC, England 3 0
8
Farrell, Peter D. 27
36 days
16 August 1922 IR Everton FC, England 9 1
also has seven appearances for Ireland
9 Walsh, David J. 26
146 days
28 April 1923 CF West Bromwich Albion FC, England 11 3
also has eight appearances for Ireland
10 Desmond, Peter 22
302 days
23 November 1926 IL Middlesbrough FC, England 2 0
11
O'Connor, Thomas A. 21
173 days
1 April 1928 OL Shamrock Rovers FC 2 0
unused substitutes: not named
team notes: Johnny Carey has played three times against England for Ireland. Con Martin, Davy Walsh, Willie Walsh and Peter Farrell twice. Bud Aherne once.
 
2-3-5 Godwin -
Carey, Aherne -

W.Walsh, Martin, Moroney -
Corr, Farrell,
D.Walsh, Desmond, O'Connor.
Averages: Age 26 years 70 days Appearances/Goals 7.5 0.6
 
              Match Report by Mike Payne

This was truly an amazing victory by the plucky Irishmen on their first visit to English soil. Every one of their team was a hear as they defied all of England's efforts.

Yet at the start, there was no inkling as to the drama that was to follow. Indeed, England could have scored after only 20 seconds. Straight from the kick-off, Wilf Mannion sent Tom Finney away and from the winger's centre, Jesse Pye headed just wide.

England immediately took hold of the game. A move between Johnny Morris and Pye ended with the centre-forward having his shot blocked. Finney that shot straight at Godwin when it seemed he must score.

This early dominance encouraged England but the Irish defended well and they were dangerous when they broke quickly. Dave Walsh and  Farrell provided their main threat and they caused England some problems with Jimmy Dickinson particularly suspect.

After 32 minutes there came the first hint of what lay ahead. A quick pass by Moroney sent Desmond free inside the box. Bert Mozley, trying to recover, succeeded only in bringing the number-ten down from behind for an obvious penalty. It was Martin who scored from the spot to give Eire a sensational lead.

The second half was one-way traffic. With a swirling wind at their backs, England threw everything at the beleaguered Irish defence. They had 90% of the possession and a whole series of amazing escapes somehow left Eire's lead intact.

Pye, Morris and Finney all hesitated when in good positions, Morris shot straight at Godwin from ten yards and then Pye did the same. Twice the inside-forwards dawdled with the goal at their mercy and Godwin made flying saves from both Peter Harris and Wright; and when the goalkeeper was beaten, Bill Walsh and Martin cleared shots from the goal-line.

So, in rising excitement, the Irish clung on. Then, with only five minutes to go, the unbelievable happened. With England pushing everyone forward, Desmond's pass put Farrell through and suddenly the match was all over as the number-eight shot past Bert Williams.
  

              Match Report by Norman Giller

England were beaten on English soil by a non-British team for the first time in their history. Nine of the Irish players were with Football League clubs and two from Shamrock Rovers but all of them were born in Ireland. Johnny Carey was a magnificent captain, and Con Martin (penalty) and Peter Farrell scored in each half to produce a stunning result. Derby defender Bert Mozley made his England debut at right-back on his 26th birthday. It was an unhappy debut, too, for Wolves centre-forward Jesse Pye and Pompey's John Harris, who struck a shot against the bar with the score at 1-0. It sounded as if the majority of the 52,000 fans packed into Goodison were supporting the Irish as they battled their way to an amazing victory. Even big-hearted Billy Wright could not turn back the green tide that swept across the Goodison pitch. It was one of those days when nothing would go right for England. They had a strong wind at their backs in the second half, but still could not break down the Irish defence in which captain Johnny Carey was a colossus. England might have had three or four goals, but the ball just would not go into the net.
 

              Match Report as appears in the F.A. Yearbook 1950-51, page 22

The opening of the 1949-50 season presented a new problem - to find a team and reserves to represent England, should she be called upon to take part in the World Cup Tournament in Brazil. The Selection Committee had to test players whose performance in League games had been outstanding, bearing in mind the type of player required to cope with fast-moving Continental football, and they had to find the right blend of team, particularly in the forward-line, where there had been many changes in the previous season. England's performance in the season's international matches which, though the International Championship was regained, may appear rather disappointing, must be viewed in the light of this problem.

The international season opened on September 22nd with a severe shock for England, when Ireland (Eire) won their first match on English soil by 2 goals to 0. Luck was certainly with the Irish throughout, but England's experimental forward-line, including two new caps, Pye and Harris, persistently missed chances. Ireland's first goal came in the 32nd minute when Martin scored from a penalty, making the score 1-0 at the interval.
The second half saw England attacking and there was an extraordinary series of escapes for Ireland. Pye, Morris and Finney all hesitated at close range, while Godwin, the Irish goalkeeper, made several remarkable saves from shots by Harris and Wright. Then with only five minutes left and England up in attack, Farrell broke through to score Ireland's second goal.

 
Domestic Football Results (21 September 1949)
The Football League Division Three South:
 
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 3
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

   Dean Court, Bournemouth (8,899)
Cheny, Lunn, McGibbon ~ Stone
 
 
Reading 2 Millwall 0
   Elm Park, Reading (13,368)
Allen (2)
 
Division Three (South) Table Top Three Only
Team P Home Away F A
W D L W D L
Reading 10 5 0 0 1 2 2 21 11 14
                     
Notts County 8 4 1 0 2 0 1 21 8 13
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 10 3 2 0 2 1 2 15 11 13
Although another home win took Reading to the top, they were to lose at home to Notts County, three days later, and had still played two games more than them. Both Bournemouth and Reading finished in mid-table. Bristol City were 11th and Millwall were 15th. The Londoners were to finish bottom, but avoided having to apply for re-election, because the division was extended to 24 clubs.
 

       In Other News....
It was on 21 September 1949 that Mao Zedong, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, announced that a central government was to be formed in the country which was to become the People's Republic of China.
  
              Source Notes
TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
British Pathé
  Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record

Norman Giller, Football Author
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