Ireland 0 England 1
Ciaran Donnelly scored the only goal as the Englishman with an Irish name left Ireland with a mountain to climb if they are to qualify for the UEFA Under-19 finals in Liechtenstein in July.
The Blackburn Rovers midfielder struck for the winner on 72 minutes.
England captain John Welsh's free kick into the Irish box wasn't dealt with and in-form Donnelly was first to the ball to shoot home with the help of a deflection.
Ireland best chance fell to skipper Glenn Whelan who had shot wide six minutes earlier.
Ireland will now probably have to beat both Switzerland and Slovenia in their remaining two games and still need favours if they are to go through.