James Henry is hoping to make the most of his loan spell with Norwich City after starring in Tuesday's win.

International U19 Friendly
7pm, Tuesday 5 February 2008
County Ground, Swindon Town FC

Reading-born James Henry enjoyed the opportunity to represent his country in front of family and friends on Tuesday evening, when he played a part in the England U19 victory over Croatia.

With the game being played in Swindon, many of Henry’s friends and family took the chance to take in the match, which saw the Young Lions run out as 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Scott Sinclair and Ciaran Clark.

It was a confidence building result too, with the next set of European Championship qualifiers taking place in May.

“It was fantastic for us to get another win,” admitted Henry, who made his debut for Norwich City last weekend after moving there on loan from Reading.

“That’s six games that the team has played together now and we’ve only lost one, so if we can keep it that way, it’s going to set us up nicely for when we go to the qualifiers.

“I thought we did well, because it was hard work out there and the whole team pulled together well to get the result.

“I had a lot of family and friends here tonight and we didn’t disappoint, we got the win and it was in front of a big crowd. It’s what the fans wanted and what the fans expected, that’s why they’ve come to watch England.”

The inclement conditions in Wiltshire didn’t make it easy for either team to construct too much flowing football on the night, but Henry’s direct and pacy style on the right wing almost led to England goals in another impressive performance from the 18-year-old.

“It was difficult conditions with the pitch tonight, but we put our chances away and we’ve won the game,” he added.

“The first half hour was okay, but after that it was really hard to get the ball down and play and run at my man.

“You’ve just got to deal with that situation when it comes and I think we did that well.”

Having enjoyed loan spells with both Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth in League One already, Henry is now looking to make another step up to Championship level at Carrow Road.

He featured for the first time as a substitute in last week’s win over Preston North End and, along with U19 team-mates Kieran Gibbs and Ryan Bertrand who are also in Norfolk on loan, is looking to get more games under his belt with the Canaries.

“It’s good for me to get out there,” he said.

“I’ve been in League One before, but the Championship is a much better standard and I hope I can get a few games under my belt there.

“Glenn Roeder is a great manager and is really pushing youth there, which I like in a manager, so hopefully I can get into his plans over the next couple of weeks.”