UNDER-18 SCHOOLS CENTENARY SHIELD: Ireland 0 England 1IRELAND RELINQUISHED their hold on the Centenary Shield after a disappointing defeat last night at the RSC in Waterford.

The game turned on a hugely controversial moment, as former Everton youngster Jacob Baptista headed home a cross from Taylor Morgan on 74 minutes.

Irish goalkeeper Gerard Hanley appeared to be obstructed as he attempted to gather the initial cross, but referee Graham Kelly let play continue as the visitors wheeled away in delight.

The win for England meant they shared the trophy with Northern Ireland on nine points each.

The omens had looked much brighter for Ireland early on as, despite the downpour, they took the game to the visitors.

Garvan Broughall fired over from the edge of the box as early as the sixth minute as England, by playing deep, encouraged the home side to attack.

Shane Howard was upended in the 11th minute and from the resultant free-kick on the edge of the box Paul Corry’s sweet, left-footed effort was turned around the post by the alert Steven Norris.

But Ireland had a let-off moments later as Morgan should have punished the home side.

The tall striker sprang the Irish offside trap as England hit on the break. Taylor raced clear but shot weakly in to the hands of Hanley.

The second half started in pedestrian fashion as it took until the 55th minute for Irish substitute Robert Benson to create their best moment of the half. He latched on to an inswinging Corry corner and, having seen his initial effort blocked by a scrambling English rearguard, his follow-up was again managed by a competent back four.

A raft of substitutions yielded a rich dividend for the visitors as David Knight knocked in a free-kick from the halfway that saw Morgan and Baptista combine for the decisive strike.

IRELAND: G Hanley; N Harney, A Boyle (J Dwane, 63 mins), T Boyle, I Storan (C Forsyth 78 mins); J Keohane (R Benson h/t), G Broughall (B Gaffney, 57 mins), J Hughes, P Corry, G Burke; S Howard.

ENGLAND: T Pass, R Carter, J Libby, M Tasker (M Whitehead, 59 mins), D Wheeler, S Johnson, J Baptista, J Eliis (J Norwood, 45 mins), T Morgan, D Watson (D Knight, 59 mins).

Referee: Graham Kelly (Cork).