Post by QPR Report on Nov 29, 2008 1:14:52 GMT
England Schoolboys Beat Scottish Schoolboys
England's U16s won the Sky Sports Victory Shield at Sincil Bank Stadium on Friday night courtesy of a 2-0 success over their Scottish counterparts.
With some of Britain's future stars lifting the gloom on a foggy Lincoln evening, goals in either half from England strikers Benik Afobe and Connor Wickham clinched the silverware for Kenny Swain's talented squad.
Report by John Vickers at Sincil Bank Stadium:
Arsenal's Benik Afobe fired England into the lead in the 11th minute when he headed an Aziz Deen-Conteh corner into the top corner of Robby Thomson and Scotland should have levelled within seconds of the restart but Connor Ramsey blazed over from six yards out.
Afobe and Connor Wickham were certainly causing problems for the Scottish defence in the opening quarter of the game and the latter fired two efforts wide before forcing Thomson into a decent save low to his left
Scotland's response saw skipper Fraser Fyvie shoot over after some good link up play between the Aberdeen midfielder and Callum McGregor saw them get the wrong side of the England back line whilst brave goalkeeping from Sam Johnstone saw him smother at the feet of Liam Gormley as he went in search of an equaliser.
The Scots were dealt a blow five minutes before the break when Rangers' right-back Adam Hunter was stretchered off after falling awkwardly after going up for an aerial challenge with Deen-Conteh. Kyle McAusland was his replacement.
The second half saw the Scots make a further change with Jamie Walker coming on for Graeme McGregor but it was one of England's two changes, namely Zele Ismail who had replaced Deen-Conteh, who played a big role in making it 2-0.
The Wolves forward's first touch saw him fizz in a shot which Thomson couldn't hold and there to fire home the loose ball was Wickham who capped his fine first half showing by grabbing the second of the game.
With the fog starting to get thicker, the impressive Wickham received a fine reception as he was replaced by Saido Berahino midway through the second period. This change was one of a number which meant any sort of flow to the game was restricted.
Scotland's first shot on target saw David Smith test Sam Johnstone with a left-footed shot from just inside the box with three minutes on the clock and this proved to be the last chance so it was thanks to goals early in either half that England retained the Sky Sports Victory Shield.
MATCH FACTS
U16 ENGLAND
1 Sam Johnstone
2 David Atkinson
3 Luke Garbutt (C)
4 George Thorne
5 Louis Laing
6 Tom Thorpe
7 Bruno Pilatos
8 Ross Barkley
9 Benik Afobe
10 Connor Wickham
11 Aziz Deen-Conteh
subs
12 Andre Wisdom (for Atkinson h/t)
14 Zele Ismail (for Deen-Conteh h/t)
17 Saido Berahino (for Wickham 64)
15 Jordan Cousins (for Barclay 71)
16 Matthias Fanimo (for Thorne 76)
13 Jak Alnwick
18 Jack Robinson
Goals: Afobe (11), Wickham (43)
U16 SCOTLAND
1 Robby Thomson
2 Adam Hunter
3 Michael Noble
4 John Young
5 Christopher Ketterer
6 Fraser Fyvie
7 Conor Ramsey
8 Dylan McGeogh
9 Liam Gormley
10 Graeme McGregor
11 Callum McGregor
subs
14 Kyle McAusland (for Hunter 36)
15 Jamie Walker (for Ramsey h/t)
18 Nicholas Main (for McGeough 56)
16 David Smith (for Gormley 72)
12 Shaun Thomson
17 Euan Lindsay
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