This was truly an amzing 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-forawd 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 beleagured 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-forawrds 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.
   

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.
 

Source Notes

TheFA.com
Soccerscene
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record (Breedon Books Publishing Company, Derby, U.K., 1993)
Norman Giller, Football Author
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CG