April 2008
England 0 – 1 Republic of Ireland
Sean Carr’s men got the victory the needed at the Stadium of Light on Friday night (April 18, 2008) against a confident England side to capture the Centenary Shield.
The travelling Irish lapped up the electric atmosphere in the Stadium as they pressed forward at every opportunity.
England was eager to advance and had a number of missed opportunities in the opening minutes from Luke Cole and Tom Grice who squandered both opportunities in front of goal.
John Mulroy had a great shot saved by the in-form keeper Wannell on 32 minutes while Shane Clarke expertly played in Kevin Barry who just sent his effort wide of the left post on 37 minutes.
John Mulroy of Moyle Park College, Clondalkin scored the only goal of the contest with 39 minutes played when a penalty was awarded after he was fouled inside the box. It was the fourth goal of the campaign for the striker, as he scored in every one of Ireland’s games.
Mulroy plays his club football for Bray Wanderers in the eircom League of Ireland Premier Division. Captain Robert Creevy controlled the midfield with some splendid through balls into Clarke and Barry up front. However, Ireland was unable to capitalise on their lead. England applied the pressure late on but the Irish defence were too strong for the rare English attack.
The Irish concluded the four game series undefeated on ten points after beating Wales, Northern Ireland and England as well as drawing with Scotland. England required victory against the Republic of Ireland at Sunderland’s ground to seize the initiative in the group but they won’t be able to catch Sean Carr’s side even if they win their final fixture in the pool against Scotland at Wembley Stadium.
The Republic of Ireland’s victory in the Centenary Shield was an all round team performance.
Sean Carr stated “all 20 players contributed to this year’s success and I’m very proud of the effort and commitment of the lads over the course of the campaign”.
Republic of Ireland: Brian Collopy, Mark O’Reilly, Gary Murphy, Philip Knight, Peter Acheson, Jake Kelly, Sean Houston, Robert Creevy, John Mulroy, Shane Clarke, Kevin Barry
Subs: Mark McGinley, David Webster, Declan Edwards, Oisin McMenamin, Jason Hughes, Gerard Cheevers, Philip Hand, Jack Flynn.
England: James Wannell, Ashley Ulph, Christopher Smalling, Aaron Martin, Jack Thorley, Matthew Bloor (Captain), Harry Hambleton, Tom Siddons, Luke Cole, Tom Grice, Jason Hawes.
Subs: Ben Lewis, Alex Duffy, Callum Riley, Lucas Pickett, Jonathan Webb, Danny Watson
