Liverpool defender Martin Kelly looks to stake his England claim.
England v Czech Republic
U19 International Friendly
7pm, Wednesday 25 March 2009
Banks's Stadium, Walsall FC
Ticket Hotline: 0871 663 0111/0222
Tickets £3 in advance (£5 on gate) adults and £1 children and concessions
Group Booking Form
Charter Standard Booking Form
Martin Kelly goes into this evening’s match with Czech Republic looking to stake a late claim for a place in the Elite Round squad with another impressive performance.
The Liverpool defender was called up for the first time to face Spain last month and made a good impression in the second half following his introduction at the break.
With the Young Lions two goals down at the time, Kelly contributed to an improved second half display which earned the 18-year-old praise from Head Coach Brian Eastick.
“I thought it went it quite well really, considering what the scoreline was,” admitted Kelly.
“Because it was my first game, I just had to try and forget about that and come on and play my normal game, so that’s what I did and it seemed to go well.
“With it being against Spain, I always knew it was going to be a faster game than what I’m used to at reserve level with Liverpool, but it was just good to play international football.
“The first 15 minutes were quite tiring because we had to work hard and we had some defending to do, but we seemed to cope better with it in the second half and in the end I enjoyed it.”
Tonight’s match will no doubt offer a different sort of challenge to England in terms of the opposition’s style, but it is something which Kelly is keen to experience again in May’s qualifiers having had that first taste of life with the Young Lions.
“I’ve set my target to try and play well, catch the manager’s eye and be involved again in the next squad for the qualifiers, but I know it’s not going to be easy,” he added.
“The manager will no doubt fill us in with more details about the Czechs, so we’ll probably approach the game differently and we’ll hopefully get a win.
“It should be a good game though and I’m sure it will be different to the match against Spain.”
You can buy the programme for this game online by clicking here.