Abankwah on mark but clinical England sink Ireland

England 3-1 Republic of Ireland

Carney Chuckwuemeka's brace was the deciding factor in the Republic of Ireland's Under-19 European Championship Elite Phase Qualifiers defeat to England on Wednesday night.

Dane Scarlett gave England an early lead at the Banks's Stadium in Walsall, and despite James Abankwah's equaliser for Ireland, it was Chuckwuemeka's brace that secured the victory.

Scarlett put England ahead in the fifth minute with a header past Dan Rose in the Irish goal.

Ireland replied strongly to the early concession, with Johnny Kenny hitting the post, and England cleared the ball on the second attempt of the resulting scramble.

Despite having to make two early substitutions in the first half due to injuries to Sinclair Armstrong and Kenny, Ireland were able to draw level.

After a fantastic ball down the right side by Bosun Lawal that was fed to Cian Hayes in the box, he teed up Abankwah to equalise.

But England responded swiftly. Chuckwuemeka had his first attempt blocked before sliding the ball beyond Rose just before half-time.

After an initial collision with Rose, Chuckwuemeka would score from close range for his second goal of the evening shortly after the break.

Ollie O'Neill had a chance to get Ireland back into the game, but his goal-bound shot was stopped.

Ireland continued to press for a second, with O'Neill and Abankwah both coming close, but their efforts just missed the mark.

Sean Roughan came close to scoring for the Boys in Green but his attempt was charged down by the English defence.

Xavier Simons, a second-half substitution for England, came close to adding a fourth goal for the hosts, but his strike sailed wide of Rose's goal.

Just before full-time, Rose made a fantastic save after Aaron Ramsey put him to the test, forcing a smart save from the Irish goalkeeper.

Next up for Tom Mohan's team is Portugal on Saturday at St George's Park.

England: Cox, Norton-Cuffy (Oyegoke 77), Quansah, Edwards, Doyle (Humphreys 66), Chuckwuemeka, Iroegbunam (Simons 77), Devine (Edozie 66), Ramsey, Vale, Scarlett (Delap 66).

Republic of Ireland: Rose, Abankwah, Lawal, Garcia MacNulty, Roughan, Adaramola, Nzingo, 87, Henry-Francis, McJannet, Kenny (Hayes 35), Armstrong (Caffrey 20), Ollie O'Neill.

Referee: Igor Pajac (Croatia)

UEFA Under-19 European Championship Elite Phase Qualifiers

Saturday, 26 March - Republic of Ireland v Portugal, St George’s Park, Staffordshire, 7.30pm

Tuesday, 29 March - Republic of Ireland v Armenia, St George’s Park, Staffordshire, 7.30pm

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Follow the Republic of Ireland v Belgium this Saturday (kick-off 5pm) via our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, or listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.