[Report originally from www.thefa.com] England have suffered a shock defeat in Belfast, as Northern Ireland beat the Three Lions on home turf for the first time in 78 years. A goal from David Healy after 73 minutes sparked unthinkable celebrations at Windsor Park as the Irish won 1-0 on a disappointing night for England. Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez scored the winning goal for Wimbledon in The FA Cup Final against Liverpool way back in 1988. And he also guided Wycombe to the semi-finals of the same competition. But this result in Belfast will be remembered for just as long. Northern Ireland didn’t dare to dream they would beat England – especially as England had never lost a qualifying game under Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson until today - but it was to be Northern Ireland's day. England started brightly enough and with a high tempo as captain David Beckham sprayed passes right and left. And Beckham himself came mighty close to scoring when his fine 20-yard free-kick hit the corner of post and bar after 28 minutes. But the Irish proved feisty opponents, crunching into tackles and doing everything in their power to disrupt England’s rhythm. Gradually, England became frustrated with their lack of a breakthrough, and Wayne Rooney - playing on the left in a 4-3-3 formation - was booked for a challenge on Keith Gillespie for using his arm. England almost provided the perfect response on the stroke of half-time when Gerrard chased his own ball into the box and crossed for Owen – whose overhead kick was well saved. Eriksson brought on Joe Cole for Shaun Wright-Phillips after 53 minutes, and Saturday’s goalscoring hero responded with two fine crosses in the space of a minute. The Irish then created a rare chance when James Quinn thundered an effort just wide. And Frank Lampard unleashed a 30-yarder of his own at the other end which was well saved by Maik Taylor - even if referee Massimo Busacca failed to award a corner. That summed up England’s night, and as frustration set in some of the passing began to go astray. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson had to dive bravely at Quinn’s feet from a low David Healy cross that had deflected off Jamie Carragher. And then the unthinkable happened. With 73 minutes on the clock, Aston Villa’s Steve Davis played a perfect ball that beat the offside trap and sent Healy away. The Leeds player strode into the area and thumped a right-footed shot past Robinson to put Northern Ireland ahead. Sven brought on both Jermain Defoe and Owen Hargreaves to try and save the day but the Irish went mighty close to 2-0 with a Healy chip just over the bar and a Warren Feeney effort just wide. Michael Owen couldn’t quite convert a long throw in the dying seconds but Northern Ireland held on for a famous victory. Congratulations to them- because it was a wonderful night for Sanchez’s team and for their tremendous fans. But for England it was a night that hurt – and hurt badly. edited by Guest (17/02/2006) |