Report: England MU19s 1-0 Republic of Ireland

England men’s under-19s made a winning start to their September and October international camp with a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland at St George’s Park. 

After a goalless first half, Max Dowman struck in the 70th minute to settle the contest, giving the Young Lions their third consecutive victory and their first under new head coach Ben Futcher. 

This was the first of four friendlies for Futcher’s side during this window. They now travel to Marbella, Spain, where they will face Norway, USA and Belgium as they continue to prepare for the U19 EURO qualifiers later this year.

England: 1 Freddy Bernal (Chelsea), 2 Wesley Okoduwa (Wolverhampton Wanderers), 3 Dean Benamar (Crystal Palace),
4 Kaden Braithwaite (Manchester City), 5 Malachi Hardy (Tottenham Hotspur), 6 Louis Page (Leicester City),
7 Ryan McAidoo (Manchester City), 8 Reggie Walsh (Wigan Athletic, loan from Chelsea), 9 Chizaram Ezenwata (Chelsea),
10 Max Dowman (Arsenal), 11 Reigan Heskey (1. FC Köln).

Substitutions: 18 Harry Gray (Sheffield Wednesday, loan from Leeds United) for Reigan Heskey 61’,
12 Dante Headley (Manchester City) for Wesley Okoduwa 61’, 21 Tynan Thompson (Manchester United) for Ryan McAidoo 61’,
19 Alejandro Rodriguez (Olympique Lyonnais) for Chizaram Ezenwata 61’. 18 Luca Williams-Barnett (Tottenham Hotspur) for Max Dowman 81’, 16 Harrison Miles (Manchester City) for Reggie Walsh 81’.

Substitutes not used: 13 Dylan Moody (Southampton), 14 Freddie Simmonds (AFC Wimbledon, loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), 15 Albert Mills (Manchester United), 20 Ifeoluwa Ibrahim (Arsenal), 22 Finley Hooper (West Ham United), 23 Bendito Mantato (Manchester United).

Head coach: Ben Futcher

Goals: Dowman 70’