England C boss speaks after fine win in Poland for his team.
Poland 1-2 England C
International Friendly
Tuesday 17 November 2009
The Inter Groclin Stadium, Gradiszk Wielpolski
After Tuesday’s fine win over Poland U23s, England C Manager Paul Fairclough could not hide his delight at the way his young side had again responded to the challenge before them.
“We have travelled to Poland with a very young group of players,” he said.
“We faced a number of withdrawals but we have to cope with such situations and, despite being disruptive, it did throw up an opportunity for other players to stake a claim for a place in the squad for next year’s International Challenge Trophy qualifying games, and these players have certainly taken their chance tonight.
“I was aware of the strength of the Polish side. They drew their recent ICT Group C opener with Portugal 0-0 and with the Portuguese side containing players from Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, my staff were under no illusions as to the task we faced.
“However, the players responded magnificently and I just wished that this side received the press coverage that their continued quality performances deserve.”
The performance of the team was probably best summed up by a report in the local Poznan sports paper on Wednesday morning which, roughly translated, said: “We were not aware which players the English were sending to us. They played for clubs that only someone who played Championship Manager on their computer would be aware of. However, now we know.
“They outplayed us, outfought us and gave our players, some of whom are on the edge of the A team, something to think about”
England C: Dale Roberts (Rushden & Diamonds) (John Hedge (FC Halifax Town, 86), Shaun Densmore (Altrincham), Sean Newton (AFC Telford United), Tom Cadmore (Hayes & Yeading United), Darius Charles (Ebbsfleet United), Jake Howells (Luton Town), Max Porter (Rushden & Diamonds) (Jai Reason (Cambridge United), 73), Rossi Jarvis (Luton Town), Nick Wright (Tamworth) (Tom Shaw (Tamworth), 60), Chris Holroyd (Cambridge United), Richard Brodie (York City) (Matthew Barnes-Homer (Kidderminster Harriers), 66).