Kenny happy with performance
Friday, 02 November, 2012
England U16 Head Coach Kenny Swain lauds players after win over Wales
Kenny Swain praised his England U16 players after they registered a narrow 1-0 win over Wales in the Victory Shield.
Dominic Solanke’s 54th-minute goal secured the three points in Port Talbot and Swain was pleased with the way his young charges persevered and eventually made the breakthrough against a bright looking Welsh side.
He said: “It was a solid performance from the boys.
“It was a tough game in difficult conditions, but the lads dug in and produced a good performance.
“It was a good exercise for us and we had to try really hard to break them down. Osian [Roberts, the Wales Head Coach] always sets his teams up well and they are always difficult to break down.”
This win was England’s second successive Victory Shield success following their 5-0 win in Northern Ireland last month and it means they need just a draw against Scotland on 29 November to retain the schoolboy competition for the twelfth consecutive season.
But far from being purely driven by results, Swain is more concerned with developing England players of the future.
He added: “Getting the results at this level is obviously important but the performances are what count and I thought the lads worked very hard to get the victory.
“I'm delighted that the boys are coming through so well, in the last two games we've seen some real quality and I'm sure that will continue in the final game against Scotland in Burton.
“I'm pleased that I've seen so many players over the two games and we've got a lot more players to see.”