England vs. Ireland: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

England and the Republic of Ireland squared off in an international friendly at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday evening, the first time the two squads had faced each other in such a match since 1991. 

Ireland struck first and held its ground in the late stages of the match, as keeper David Forde's strong play helped the away side earn a 1-1 draw against the home side on Wednesday evening. 

BBC Sport had the tweet with the match result:

ESPN's Paul Carr also noted that Ireland continues to give English football trouble in international play, extending a streak of unbeaten play with this draw:

Rocking a new home Nike kit, the England side wasn't ready for the pesky Ireland squad in the early going. After some sloppy passing and players being out of position down near the box, Ireland would strike first off the head of Shane Long. 

A brilliant long cross from Seamus Coleman on the deep right flank left Long in between two English defenders. He rose to the occasion—literally—by getting above Glen Johnson and heading in a beautiful score over the outstretched arms of keeper Joe Hart in the opposite corner of the net. 

SoccerBible on Twitter had this post as Long found the net to give the Republic of Ireland a 1-0 lead:

England would wake up over the next few minutes, and capitalized in the 23rd minute when Frank Lampard got the equalizer at Wembley Stadium. A brilliant cross from Daniel Sturridge left Lampard to gamble in front of two Irish defenders, but he managed to work the ball through the box and past keeper David Forde to tie the score at one. 

Carr had this post about Lampard's all-time English rank after his latest score for the national club:

TalkChelsea also posted on Twitter after Lampard's score, noting that it was the first goal for England in its new Nike kits:

Both clubs remained scoreless throughout the first half, but the match was not without drama. 

The referees were letting both sides play and challenge balls that might have been automatic stoppages in league play or a qualifying match, and Sturridge was the recipient of some of that agression in the 31st minute. 

An injury to his leg after an Irish challenge left Jermain Dafoe to come on the pitch in his absence in the 33rd minute. A stretcher was required to move Sturridge to the sidelines.

ITV Football had this post on Twitter of Sturridge going down: 

The rest of the first half went off without a hitch, as the English and Irish sides exchanged runs from their forwards to no avail. Several challenges again went unpunished by the officials, and England survived some sloppy play at home to head to the locker room with a 1-1 tie against the away side. 

The final score would also reflect the halftime mark. 

The English side really ramped up the pace in the second half, and ended up getting several chances on goal for Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lampard late in the match. Each time, though, the defense stood stiff, as Forde and the Irish defenders held their ground to preserve the tie. 

Wayne Rooney, who is the subject of intense transfer rumors from his Manchester United home as the summer window opens, had a relatively quiet afternoon, highlighted by a beautiful pass to Walcott that went for naught after more of Forde's heroics. 

England can't be happy with the draw in front of home fans at Wembley, but after missing key players like Steven Gerrard and just trying to figure out what the lineup will look like when the real competition for the World Cup will begin, this isn't a bad outcome for either side. 

Ireland will certainly leave England feeling great about its defensive play for the majority of the match, and Forde's gem in net was a bright spot for an Irish squad that struggled to get chances against Hart and Ben Foster. 

With this friendly in the books, each side can focus on getting better for international play over the course of the next few months, and qualifying matches that will test the talent and cohesiveness of both of these rosters in the coming weeks. 

Let's take a look at some grades for both squads. 

Full Grades

ENGLAND		IRELAND
Player	Grade	Player	Grade
Joe Hart (off 46')	C+	David Forde	A
Ashley Cole (off 54')	B+	John O'Shea	B+
Gary Cahill	B	Seamus Coleman	A
Glen Johnson (off 46')	C+	Sean St. Ledger	C+
Phil Jagielka	B	Stephen Kelly	A
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (off 88')	B+	Aiden McGeady (off 68')	B
Frank Lampard	A-	Glenn Whelan (off 74')	B+
Michael Carrick	B-	James McCarthy	B
Theo Walcott	B	Jonathan Walters (off 82')	B
Wayne Rooney	C	Robbie Keane (off 66')	C+
Daniel Sturridge (off 33')	B+	Shane Long	B+
Substitutes		Substitutes
Jermain Dafoe (on 33')	B-	Simon Cox (on 66')	B
Phil Jones (on 46')	B	James McLean (on 68')	B-
Ben Foster (on 46')	B-	Jeff Hendrick (on 74")	C+
Leighton Baines (on 54')	B	Connor Sammon (on 82')	B
James Milner (on 88')	C

Frank Lampard, England: A-

Lampard did what he does best on Wednesday—score goals when his club needs him the most. 

It's been a hallmark of his time at Chelsea and in international competition, as evidenced by Lampard now moving up English football ranks each time he finds the back of the net for his country moving forward. 

The Chelsea midfielder couldn't get another score to put England up for good, but his runs, passing and presence were all important for England on Wednesday—likely one of the reasons he played all 90 minutes. 

Shane Long, Republic of Ireland: B+

Long had the goal of the match on Wednesday, as his header was perfectly placed and was the best move of the evening by all accounts. 

Where was he during the rest of the match?

Paired with big-time Major League Soccer star Robbie Keane and Simon Cox for most of the match, Long couldn't spark Ireland's attack enough to really threaten England and second-half keeper Foster in the final stages of the match. 

Theo Walcott, England: B

Walcott just finished a brilliant season for Arsenal, and the 24-year-old striker is coming off a Premier League campaign in which he scored 14 goals in 24 matches for the Gunners. 

One of the bright spots on a roster filled with veteran talent, Walcott should be a long-term fixture on England's national team in the coming seasons. His pace was good for most of the match and that led to chances at the goal—all of which were turned away by the stellar play of the man below. 

David Forde, Republic of Ireland: A

Playing all 90-plus minutes on Wednesday, Forde was one of the biggest bright spots for an Irish squad coming into its own when backed against the wall in their own zone. 

His club had this congratulatory tweet as the match ended:

Forde did allow Lampard's equalizer in the early stages, but if you consider that Lampard beat two defenders and is a scorer still in his prime, there's very few—if any—keepers who would have been able to keep Ireland ahead in that spot. 

Turning away shot after shot from the home side, Forde was big when he needed to be. He came out of the net to stifle the cross on several occasions and preserved this draw when it looked like England would threaten with Walcott, Lampard and others in the final few minutes. 

Overall, it was an impressive performance only lowlighted by the early Lampard goal. 

What's Next?

England will gather together again for an international friendly on June 2, when the Three Lions will square off against Brazil. It should be a huge test for Wednesday's home squad with the 2014 World Cup right around the corner. 

The Republic of Ireland squad will also get back into action on June 2, as the Boys in Green will face off against Georgia in preparation for a FIFA World Cup qualifying match on June 7 against the Faroe Islands side. 

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