Iceland 0-2 England

UEFA U17 Championship Finals
Group B
Wednesday 2 May 2007
Ronse, Belgium

England made a perfect start to their European Championship adventure when they beat Iceland 2-0 on Wednesday.

Krystian Pearce and Danny Rose scored the first half goals to hand England the points, although Head Coach John Peacock was left with a bitter-sweet feeling at the final whistle.

"The most important thing was to win the game, but I was disappointed with our second half performance," said Peacock. "We did not pass it well and that's something we will need to look at before our next game.

"But it was crucial to get off to a good start," he added. "People expect you to beat Iceland, and my expectations are high. Iceland were just happy to be there - their manager said that - but they worked hard to stop us playing. Being 2-0 up at half-time, it's difficult to run away with the game."

Peacock spoke prior to the game about the importance of hitting the ground running in a tournament. Birmingham City defender Pearce was certainly listening, turning the ball in at the far post after just four minutes following Jonathan Franks' pass.

"We had worked on our set-plays," insisted Peacock. "We thought they might be vulnerable at the back post. It's Krystian's first goal for England - I'm delighted for him."

England continued to press, winning a series of corners before the ten minute mark, while Victor Moses went close twice before the young Lions doubled their advantage on 24 minutes.

Again Franks was involved, supplying the pass for Rose who blasted into the top corner of the net from the edge of the box.

"That was a good goal," said Peacock.

Chances were sparse in the second half with Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi spurning one of the few openings on 52 minutes.

England: Steele (Middlesbrough), Ofori-Twumasi (Chelsea), Pearce (Birmingham City), Spence (West Ham), Mattock (Leicester City), Moses (Crystal Palace), Lansbury (Arsenal), Woods (Chelsea), Plummer (Bristol City), Franks (Middlesbrough), Rose (Leeds United).
Subs: Welbeck (Manchester United), Murphy (Arsenal), Taiwo (Chelsea), Smithies (Huddersfield), Gosling (Plymouth Argyle), Porritt (Middlesbrough), Hoyte (Arsenal).

Goals: Pearce 4, Rose 24