Ireland booked their place in the European Under-21 Championships play-offs after coming from behind to claim a huge victory over England on Tuesday night.

Jim Crawford’s side became the first Irish team to beat England at this level, despite falling behind to an eighth minute goal by Everton’s Tyler Dibling.

Ireland did not take too long to respond, with Waterford’s Tommy Lonergan coolly finishing off a Rory Finneran pass midway through the first half.

The Boys in Green faced a series of prominent Premier League threats, with Fulham’s Joshua King proving a tough teenager to keep quiet.

However, it was Ireland who overturned the tie in the 38th minute, when Trent Kone-Doherty made his way down the left wing before setting up Conor McManus for a first-time finish.

McManus went close again early in the second half, missing the target after Jacob Devaney robbed a defender at the edge of the box.

The miss didn’t matter in the end as just after the hour mark, Lonergan pounced on a loose ball in the box to fire home his second and Ireland’s third goal of the clash.

Irish goalkeeper Noah Jauny made several strong saves throughout the match, though one particular late stop to deny Everton’s Tyrique George drew plenty of praise.

It was a deserved win for Ireland in front of a sold-out Turner’s Cross in Cork, securing second place in the group and a spot in the eight-country play-offs.

It looked to be a daunting task for Crawford’s side, who knew that they had to match Slovakia’s result in Andorra in order to advance.

However, they proved more than up for the challenge against Lee Carsley’s group winners and now have a strong chance at heading to the European Championships in Albania and Serbia.

Ireland have joined Greece, Finland, Denmark, Turkey, Netherlands, Czechia, and Iceland in Friday’s play-off draw.

A two-legged clash is now all that stands in the Under-21s’ way of a spot in the major tournament.