By winning this match England duly qualified for the World Cup finals to be held in June of the following year in Switzerland, but their performance on the day would not send too many fears to the other competing nations.

It was a poor game with the Irish showing up better than England for long spells. With their wing-halves, Blanchflower and Cush, dominating the midfield battle, they should have capitalised on their superiority. As it was, they were given a lesson in finishing.

Even a gift goal for England after only 30 seconds could not inspire the home side. A cross shot by Harold Hassall seemed easy for Smyth but the goalkeeper unaccounatbly allowed the ball to squirm under his body and into the net. Having been given a terrific start, it was disappointing to see England fail to build on it. Their team was non-existent and there was no cohesion in their performance. Not so Northern Ireland!

With Blanchflower outstanding and McIlroy, Cush and Bingham working tirelessly, they came back strongly. Alas, their finishing was poor although credit must go to the excellent defensive play of Harry Johnston, Jimmy Dickinson and Gil Merrick. At the other end, ,Smyth made up for his earlier blunder by pulling off a thrilling point-blank save from Hassall. But that was an isolated raid by England and they were somehwat fortunate to see their lead still intact at the half-time whistle.

Nine minutes after the interval, though, Northern Ireland deservedly equalized. Bingham sent over a right-wing cross and McMorran headed past Merrick. The goalkeeper was a little unlucky as the ball rebounded off his body and into the net but it was no more than the Irish deserved.

From that moment, England had to turn to the one saving grace of their day. Once again it was the incomparable Stanley Matthews who shone like a beacon on the dull afternoon's proceedings. His footwork was superb and he wandered into the middle to test all the Irish defenders.

It was Matthews who began the move on the hour that gave England the lead again. A lovely piece of trickery ended with a pass to Billy Wright. The captain moved down the right wing before crossing for Hassall to lead a fine goal from 15 yards into the top corner.

A quarter of an hour later England made the game safe with a third goal. This time Jimmy Mullen was the provider as his long centre was crashed into the net by the head of Nat Lofthouse. After the goal, both Lofthouse and Smyth left the field injured. Lofthouse, already limping, had hurt his head and Smyth left the action with a broken nose.

Dickson took over in goal for the Irish but was not seriously troubled in the remaining minutes. It was a case for Ireland to reflect on their missed chances on the first half especially, whilst for England only Matthews, Johnston, Dickinson and Merrick could be satisfied with their display.
  

Harold Hassall, playing alongside his Bolton team-mate Nat Lofthouse, scored the first of his two goals in just thirty seconds to mark his international recall after two years. It was Hassall's fifth and last cap. Eddie McMorran equalised for the Irish nine minutes after half-time, and they were the superior side for long periods. Stanley Matthews turned the game England's way with a typical mazy run on the hour before passing to Billy Wright, who set up a simple second goal for Hassall. It was Nat Lofthouse who wrapped up victory for England fifteen minutes later when he headed in a Jimmy Mullen cross, colliding with goalkeeper Smyth as he powered the ball into the net. Lofthouse limped off and Smyth was carried off with a broken nose. West Bromwich right-back Stan Rickaby played in his one and only England match in place of the injured Alf Ramsey.
   

On Friday, 15 November 1952, The New Musical Express published the first ever singles chart in the UK. However, less than a year later, when England beat Ireland, David Whitfield's version of Answer Me was the best selling single. When the chart of Friday, 6 November 1953 was published, there were six surviving songs from the last chart when England played:-

Source Notes

TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record (Breedon Books Publishing Company, Derby, U.K., 1993)
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
Norman Giller, Football Author
officialcharts.com singles chart
____________________

CG