ENGLAND’s quest to win outright another Victory Shield was rocked at Dean Court tonight as Kenny Swain’s young guns suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Northern Ireland.
A neat headed goal in the second half from Portadown’s Shea Conaty was enough to stun the home nation in front of a crowd of 2,810 at Goldsands Stadium.
The result means holders England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all still have a chance of winning the tournament going into the final round of games.
The young lions dominated the opening period but were left with no reward for their superiority.
Winger Andre Green saw his free-kick clip the top of the crossbar, while flamboyant Tottenham midfielder Marcus Edwards looked lively throughout but could not break through a resilient Northern Ireland backline.
Both sides also had players badly injured in the second period, with Manchester City’s Joshua Murray and Northern Ireland captain Nathan Kerr both having to be stretchered off with suspected broken legs.
England: McCulloch (Man City), Arnold (Liverpool), Coulson (Middlesbrough), Diallo (Man City) – Kane (Liverpool, h-t), Assiana (Man City) – Murray (Man City, h-t) – Nmecha (Man City, 62), Johnson (Leicester), Maddox (Chelsea) – K Edwards (WBA, 62), Gribbin (Man Utd), Hector-Ingram (West Ham), M Edwards (Spurs), Green (Aston Villa) – Muskwe (Leicester, 62).
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