Match Summary

Ireland Team

England Team

Match Report by Mike Payne

A record 57,000 people attended the first official full Home International football match since 1939 and the huge swirling crowd threatened to cancel the game as the spectators spilled on to the pitch.  Thankfully, common sense and good humour prevailed and order was restored in time for the kick-off.

The match got off to a sensational start with England taking the lead in the first minute.  George Hardwick sent the ball into the Irish penalty area and after Ahearne had made a weak attempt at a clearance, Raich Carter pounced to open the scoring.

Although Ireland tried desperately to recover they could not stop the eager England forwards.  In the seventh minute it was 2-0.  Henry Cockburn found Tommy Lawton with a lovely pass and the centre-forward fond some space brilliantly to set up and easy goal for Wilf Mannion.  Middlesbrough's Mannion scored again before half-time after Lawton's ferocious shot rebounded off the crossbar and England went in with a commanding lead.

Carter and Mannion continued to perform brilliantly after the break to completely destroy Ireland's already shattered defences.  Time and again their fine passing set up more goal chances.  Within 15 minutes England had scored two more goals through Tom Finney and Mannion, who thus completed his hat-trick.

Finney was doing just as he pleased on the right wing and by this time Mannion and Carter were walking through the demoralised Irish ranks.  Lockhart gavethe eerily silent crowd something to cheer with a goal from the left, but Lawton and then Bobby Langton underlined England's superiority with goals six and seven.  Just before the end Lockhart gave the Irish another consolation goal but it was a very dejected set of green-shirted footballers who left the field at the final whistle.

England's display had been very impressive and Carter's link up with Finney was outstanding, much better than at anytime with Stanley Matthews; Mannion's performance was also memorable.

Back row - Laurie Scott, Neil Franklin, Frank Swift,
Billy Wright, Henry Cockburn. 
Front row - Tom Finney, Raich Carter, George Hardwick,
Wilf Mannion, Tommy Lawton, Bobby Langton.

Source Notes

Agnew, Paul, Finney: A Football Legend (Carnegie Press, Preston, Lancs. 1989)

Giller, Norman, Billy Wright:  A Hero for All Seasons (Robson Books, London, 2002)

Horsnell, Bryan & Douglas Lamming, Forgotten Caps: England Football Internationals of Two World Wars (Yore Publications, Harefield, Middlesex, 1995)

Hugman, Barry J., The PFA Premier & Football League Players’ Records 1946-1998, passim  (Queen Anne Press, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England, 1998)

Hurley, Jeff, United Kingdom & Eire International Database (Association of Football Statisticians 1998)

Lamming, Douglas, An English Football Internationlists’ Who’s Who (Hutton Press Limited, Beverly, North Humberside, U.K., 1990)

Lawton, Tommy, My Twenty Years of Soccer (Jarrold & Sons, Norwich, U.K., 1955).

Miller, David, Stanley Matthews: The Authorized Biography (Pavilion Books, London, 1989)

Payne, Mike, England: The Complete Post-War Record (Breedon Books Publishing Company, Derby, U.K., 1993)

Robinson, Michael & Mike Ross, Soccer: The International Line-ups & Statistics Series—England 1872-1960 (Soccer Book Publishing Ltd., Cleethorpes, South Humberside, England, 1995)

Rollin, Jack, Rothmans Book of Football Records (Headline Book Publishing, London, 1998)

Varley, Nick, Golden Boy: A Biography of Wilf Mannion (Aurum Press Limited, London, 1997)

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