Assistant Coach Noel Blake looks forward to a trip to his old club.

England v Slovakia
7pm, Friday 29 May 2009
Coral Windows Stadium, Valley Parade, Bradford City FC
Ticket Hotline: 01274 770012

England U19s Assistant Coach Noel Blake heads back to one of his old clubs this evening as the Young Lions look to continue their quest for a place in the European Championship Finals.

After Wednesday’s victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, England now face Slovakia at Valley Parade, home of Bradford City where Blake played his football during the early 1990s.

Blake expects a competitive game too, with England knowing that a second win will give them a better chance of qualifying for the Finals later this year whilst Slovakia will feel they must win if they are to have a chance after losing their opening game to Scotland on Wednesday.

“It will be a difficult game but that’s the case with every international now, at every level” said Blake.

“Slovakia are a typical eastern European nation, they’ll be very physical and technically decent and I expect they will have the ball for long periods.

“Every nation in Europe play different styles now, some teams will press you all the time while others drop off and let you build from the back.

“They all pose various problems which the lads have to deal with, so we’ve got to be patient and then make the most of the possession we have but we’ve got players in the squad that can do that.”

Tonight’s game will be the first of two games to be held at Valley Parade and Blake is hoping for a big crowd to help cheer on the Young Lions.

“The support of the fans is very important and the players respond to that,” he added.

“Knowing my time at Valley Parade, the crowd there can really get behind you so I hope as many supporters as possible can come along and they’ll see an excellent game of football.”