England C Manager Paul Fairclough speaks of his pride.

International Challenge Trophy
The Final
Tuesday 19 May 2009
Kassam Stadium, Oxford United
Kick-Off 7.45pm

England C manager Paul Fairclough said he was proud of his young Lions on Tuesday night, despite their defeat in the Final of the International Challenge Trophy at Oxford.

"I'm very proud because we had a lot of new caps today and they did really, really well.

"It's hard to take when you go out, especially when it's at home, but the team have had a great run in this tournament.

"They were two contrasting styles of play with one team very, very technical and the other an English football side with great spirit.

"They passed the ball around without really penetrating us and hurting us."

The killer blow came just after the hour mark when Brecht Capon struck for the Belgians, but Fairclough admitted it was a magnificent goal with which to win any Final.

"It was a super, super goal, no doubt about it," he said.

"We showed typical English spirit after the goal and threw everything into it as we tried to come back. And on another day, something may have fallen for us.

"Belgium played us a very big compliment by bringing in a lot of top players from big clubs, I think they had only one player who played in the last qualifying game, so that showed how seriously they took this.

"But the future's looking really good for Conference football when you see the young players here and what they have done."