Peacock's assessment
Saturday, 28 August, 2010
U17s Head Coach looks at Friday's victory and towards Sunday's game.
David Pye
England U17s Head Coach John Peacock was pleased with his squad following Friday's 4-0 victory over Australia in Grimsby, with the result leaving The FA International Tournament wide open going into Sunday's final games.
The Young Lions' victory put them on top of the four-team table, following Turkey's 3-2 win against Portugal, with England set to face the Portuguese in their concluder at Scunthorpe.
"We started a lot better tonight after finishing very well against Turkey, so It was important to try and piece an 80-minute game together," said Peacock, after seeing goals from Matthias Fanimo, Courtney Meppen Walters, Raheem Sterling and Nick Powell prove too much for the Australians.
"We didn't know a lot about the Australians other than the game we saw on Wednesday and we had to make sure we pressed them high up the pitch which we did. I think we got the rewards for that.
"Although we didn't score until about 30-odd minutes, we were quite patient in our build-up and passed it very well.
"Obviously we were delighted to see two goals go in just before half-time. There was some good finishing tonight, but having said that, we have demanded more of them again because we did miss quite a few chances as well.
"The goals we did score were quality goals, so I was very pleased for the people that scored."
There was also a healthy crowd in attendance at Blundell Park, which pleased Peacock as his players continue their football education at international level.
"It's nice for the lads to play in these sort of environments at traditional football grounds like Blundell Park," he added. "Having 2000 there was a real big boost for them.
"We've been well supported and hopefully we can get a similar size crowd on Sunday. So far we've enjoyed every minute of the tournament."
And a victory on Sunday could be enough to see England lift the competition title. They have a better goal difference than the Turks, so there is all to play for in both matches but Peacock warns that they will face a competent Portuguese outfit.
"The Portuguese are always strong in terms of having quality outfits," he explained. "They always seem to get to the European finals and do very well.
"I felt Turkey were a good side and they are always very strong as well. They managed to beat Portugal 3-2, so I think it is all set up nicely for Sunday.
"The bottom line is that we are going to try perform well. We've managed to rotate the players around which has been great. We'll wait and see what Sunday brings but it should be a very exciting game."