ESFA News
England U16 Schoolboys retain Victory Shield
England Boys celebrate
England 2-1 Scotland
A packed crowd of 2252 welcomed the Auld Enemy enemy to Morecambe’s brand new stadium The Globe Arena for what was the 2010-11 Sky Sports Victory Shield decider. England knew that only a victory would be good enough for them if they were to retain the title, whilst the Scots could win it by simply avoiding defeat.
Kenny Swain made ten changes to the side that beat Northern Ireland 3-0 in Ballymena last week, with the exception of Manchester United’s Joe Rothwell who took his place among the starting eleven.
England made the brighter start of the two sides with Rothwell nearly giving his side the lead after just six minutes. A low cross from Luke Shaw on the left hand side landed just a bit too quickly for Rothwell to connect properly and he was unlucky not to steer it past the Scottish goalkeeper Ryan Crump.
However, a minute later the Young Lions made Scotland pay, as a deflected ball from Blair Munn landed in David Moli’s path and the Liverpool youngster calmly slotted the ball into the corner of the net to give his side the lead.
The Young Lions dominated the first 40 minutes and doubled their lead when centre-half Ryan Inniss headed past Crump in the Scottish goal. The Crystal Palace schoolboy towered above the defence to power his header home with Crump given no chance.
England’s greatest success over Scotland was a notable 8-2 victory at Wembley in front of 53,000 fans in 1950, the crowd wasn’t quite that tonight in Morecambe but they certainly made themselves known with great support for the youngsters.
No wonder Swain’s team wanted to get out early for the second half, too early in fact for the England coaching staff who hurried them back into the changing rooms. The commitment was great to see with the Young Lions looking to cement their names in the Shield’s history books.
The England v Scotland Schoolboy fixture is a 100 years old this year. The countries first met in Newcastle in 1911, the match finished in a 1-1 draw. The 2011 match tonight went all England’s way as they continued to outplay their 'Auld Enemy' throughout the second-half.
After not putting the game to bed with numerous chances though, it was Scotland who scored against the run of play to make it a tense last ten minutes for England. Substitute Jack Kirwan grabbing a scrappy goal and breathing life into the visitors.
This didn’t faze the Young Lions one bit, as they showed maturity beyond their years to consolidate the win. England celebrated emphatically at the end as they were crowned winners of the Sky Sports Victory Shield for the tenth time in a row.
England U16 Boys Team News, Stats and Squad
March 2011 News
30th :: Rednock pupils train at Villarreal
Forty five school children from Rednock School in Gloucestershire recently returned from a sports tour of a lifetime to the illustrious Villarreal CF football club in Spain, where they lived the lives of professional footballers for five amazing days!
28th :: Chairman's Monthly Message: March 2011
A message from Mike Coyne, the ESFA Chairman, for 2011:
In the last month the demands on my time as chairman have begun to increase as is usual for this time of year.
28th :: Andy Williams: Delighted with England's performace
esfa.co.uk caught up with England Under 18 Schools' Team Manager, Andy Williams, after the 1-0 win against Wales on Friday 25 March at Yeovil Town FC.
28th :: U18 Centenary Shield: England 1-0 Wales
England earned their first three points of the 2011 Centenary Shield when they beat rivals Wales by a goal to nil at Huish Park on Friday evening.
25th :: Andy Williams' thoughts ahead of match v Wales
esfa.co.uk once again caught up with England Under 18 Schools' Team Manager, Andy Williams, ahead of tonight's Centenary Shield match against Wales at Yeovil Town FC.
22nd :: England v Wales: Tickets selling fast!
Tickets are selling particularly well for the forthcoming Centenary Shield International between England and Wales at Yeovil Town FC on Friday 25 March, kick-off 7.30 pm.
10th :: Somerset School on the ball for Carling Cup Final
Pupils from Stanchester Community School in Somerset had a great day out as they took on the role of ball boys for the Carling Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday 27 February.
09th :: Trip of a Lifetime for Bulmershe School Pupils
A group of school children from The Bulmershe School recently returned from a once in a lifetime five day international football development tour to the esteemed Valencia CF Football Club
The highly anticipated tour was organised by Simon Bradbury,
08th :: Andy Williams reflects on Northern Ireland defeat
esfa.co.uk caught up with the England Under 18 Schools’ team manager after the game to gain his thoughts on the 2-0 defeat against Northern Ireland on Friday evening at AFC Telford United.
04th :: Centenary Shield: England 0-2 N. Ireland
A cold evening greeted the players at AFC Telford United on Friday 04 March.
03rd :: England Squad: Player Profiles
On the eve of the opening match of England Schoolboys’ 2011 Centenary Shield campaign against Northern Ireland; we take great pleasure in introducing you to our selected players for this season.
02nd :: England U15 Girls’ Squad Announced
The following players have been selected to represent England Schools at the Under 15 Girls’ age group:
Name
School
County SFA
Keren Allen
Windsor High School
West Midlands
