Belgium

0-2

England

 

 

Andrew Bishop 18, Dan Carey 66


European Challenge Trophy
Tuesday 15 November 2005
FC Racing Jets, Wavre

England's National Game XI extended their unbeaten run to seven games on Tuesday night as they got their European adventure off to an impressive start with a convincing 2-0 victory over Belgium.

Goals in either half from York City’s Andy Bishop and Hereford United’s Dan Carey-Bertram gave Paul Fairclough’s side the important win at the Stade Justin Peeters in Wavre.

The early exchanges were even with the quick passing game of the home side putting the English defence on the back foot. The first opportunity fell to Bishop on five minutes following good approach play by Oli, which resulted in the York striker’s shot being parried for a corner by De Vriendt in the Belgian goal.

Belgium’s Garcia was starting to cause problems on the right wing with his speed and skill on the ball. The first yellow card of the night went to Northwich Victoria’s Michael Carr for a hefty challenge.

In the 17th minute De Vriendt rushed from his goal and completely fluffed his clearance straight to Dennis Oli who from 25 yards chipped the ball narrowly wide. A second mistake by the home keeper led to England taking the lead on 18 minutes. Oli tried an audacious shot from 30 yards which De Vriendt flapped at leaving Andy Bishop with the easy task of slotting home from 6-yards.

On 35 minutes De Vriendt again made a hash of a clearance with the ball landing at the feet of Bishop who tried his luck from around 40 yards out only for his shot to go narrowly wide. England were on top at this point and Tam Mkandawire went close with a header from a corner.

The second half started brightly for the Belgians and following an excellent passing movement covering the entire length of the field involving Buysse and Thompson ended with the latter firing over the bar.

On the hour-mark Fairclough introduced Hereford’s Dan Carey-Bertram in place of Grays Athletic’s Jamie Slabber and he made an immediate impact.

First on 63 minutes Oli sent him racing clear into the box and despite being pulled back he managed to get a shot in which rebounded back from the bar.

Three minutes later he had better luck when George Boyd laid the ball inside and he struck a fierce shot from 35 yards which ripped into the Belgian net giving De Vriendt no chance.

The home side tried to keep the momentum going and after Ian Craney was caught in possession Garcia surged forward to fire in a shot which was deflected for a corner. The game began to fade and England held the upper hand through to the final whistle.

Manager Paul Fairclough was full of praise for his squad: “This was almost a total new squad, with only 5 players having been involved before," he said. 

"Considering we only had two days together, they gelled really well.” 

He added: “I was delighted with the overall performance and the commitment shown by the players. This was our first victory over the Belgians and gets the new Tournament off to a winning start.

"I am really looking forward to what will be a tough encounter with Italy in February”

Starting lineup:
Ryan Robinson (Morecambe FC)
Tamika Mkandawire (Hereford United FC)
Kieran Charnock (Northwich Victoria FC)
David Perkins (Morecambe FC)
Dennis Oli (Grays Athletic FC)
Ian Craney (Accrington Stanley FC)
Steve Wales (Yeading FC)
Michael Carr (Northwich Victoria FC)
George Boyd (Stevenage Borough FC)
Andrew Bishop (York City FC)
Jamie Slabber (Grays Athletic FC)

Subs:
Billy Jones (Exeter City FC), Aaron Brown (Tamworth FC), Daniel Carey-Bertram (Hereford United FC), Craig Mackail-Smith (Dagenham & Redbridge FC), Paul Jones (Exeter City FC)