Faroes hit for four
Tuesday, 02 August, 2011
Chris Long scores two as England begin Nordic Tournament emphatically.
England got the defence of their Nordic Tournament crown off to the perfect start with a comfortable 4-0 dismissal of Faroe Islands.
The Nordic Tournament represents the first international competition of the season and is the first of potentially six tournaments this year group could compete in this season, with the ultimate aim being to qualify for the European U17 Championship Finals next summer.
Last season’s batch of U17s won all four matches in Finland to win the Nordics and the latest crop, who are in Iceland, have started as they mean to go on.
An own goal by Jon Aki Jacobsen after 12 minutes began the rout before Everton’s Chris Long scored the first of his two goals just before the half-hour mark. Arsenal forward Chuba Akpom added a third soon after the restart (U17s play 40 minutes each way) before Long completed his brace five minutes later.
With a second game, against Norway, tomorrow, Head Coach Kenny Swain took advantage of the four-goal margin to make five changes on 53 minutes, with Isaac Hayden replacing skipper Shay Facey, Luke Woodland replacing Connor Randall, Ashley Smith-Brown replacing Danny Smith, Mason Bennett replacing Akpom and George Glendon coming on for Lewis Baker.