Hart beat for Lions

England v Austria
U18 International Friendly
7pm, Tuesday 16 April, 2008
Victoria Park, Hartlepool Utd FC

England U18s are in action for the first time this year when they meet Austria at Hartlepool United on April 16. KO: 7pm.

The friendly fixture will give Brain Eastick’s side more valuable international experience and a chance to build on their 2-0 victory over Ghana at Gillingham towards the tail end of 2007.

The win against the highly rated Black Starlets saw the likes of Jordan Spence (West Ham Utd), Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi (Chelsea) and Daniel Welbeck (Man Utd) make their U18 debuts having impressed at the U17 World Cup in Korea last summer and Eastick is hoping for yet another assured display from the Young Lions.

“Ghana came with a good reputation and it was an excellent game for both the players and the crowd.

“They’d reached the Semi Finals of the World Cup in Korea but we equipped ourselves well and deserved the win so we’ll be looking for something similar at Hartlepool next month,” said Eastick who also looks after the England U19 setup as well.

The Austria friendly will also give Eastick an opportunity to bring in more players from last year’s U17 World Cup squad and a few new faces as well: “England U16s coach, Kenny Swain, looks after our scouting programme and we’re constantly monitoring players from around the country at academy, reserve and first-team games,” explained Eastick.

“U18s don’t play competitive football at this level so it gives us a great chance to see what promising youngsters can do on the international stage.”