England U19s head off to Elite Round on back of 1-0 win over Turkey
England U19s 1-0 Turkey U19s
International Match
7.30pm, Thursday 21 March 2013
The New Buck's Head, AFC Telford United
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By Nichols Veevers in Telford
Calum Chambers warmed up a freezing Telford on Thursday, as his first-half strike gave England U19s a win and an ideal send-off to May’s Elite Round.
With sleet and unseasonal conditions in Shropshire, it was a hard fought encounter against a stubborn and physical Turkey side.
But Noel Blake’s side certainly edged the game, particularly in the first half when England had the better of the possession and the chances.
It was a positive start from the Young Lions and the impressive Nick Powell slipped a pass through for Nathan Redmond in the 17th minute. He lined up a shot, only for a timely block from Hakan Cinemre to save the day for Turkey.
Redmond returned the favour ten minutes later, as he nicked the ball off Ilkay Durmus before picking out Powell. The Manchester United striker beat his man into the box, before hitting a powerful shot just over.
And when England took the lead just after the half-hour mark, Redmond was involved again. Receiving the ball just inside the Turkey half, the Birmingham winger was man-handled by the hapless Durmus. The ball fell loose and referee Paul Tiernan played the advantage, allowing Chambers to charge forward from right-back.
With few options available, the Southampton man drove a low, angled shot at goal and completely deceived ‘keeper Onurcan Piri to pick out the far corner and open the scoring.
At the other end, Jordan Pickford was forced into his first save five minutes before the break, by stopping Ibrahim Yilmaz’s close-range header on the line after a dangerous set-piece from skipper Okan Yokuslu.
England came close again moments before half time, when Lewis Baker’s corner caused havoc in the Turkish box with both Adam Webster and Jack O’Connell waiting to head home. O’Connell saw his attempt cleared off the line before Piri somehow recovered to save Webster’s follow-up.
And it was Turkey who almost equalised in the 56th minute as sub Recep Niyaz crossed from the right beyond Pickford and towards Yilmaz, but O’Connell managed to block and clear the danger.
Powell continued to cause problems for Turkey and he showed great skill to evade three challenges on the edge of the area before finding Josh Murphy in the box. But Piri was out sharply to make a brave stop at his feet and keep his side in it.
With Pickford by now replaced by Cameron Dawson in goal, the sub had a few bits and pieces to deal with as Turkey looked for an equaliser, but only comfortable stops to make from Yilmaz and Calhanoglu.
And the scoreline could have been doubled when Powell drew another foul from Turkey in stoppage time, this time in the box.
A foul on him from Cinemre drew a flag from the assistant and the referee had little option but to award a spot kick.
Unfortunately, Piri guessed correctly to save Powell’s casually-taken penalty and keep the scoreline a little more flattering for his side than it perhaps should've been.
England U19s: 1 Jordan Pickford (13 Cameron Dawson, 75), 2 Calum Chambers (15 Matthew Pennington, 70), 3 Adam Webster (16 Greg Leigh, 71), 4 Danny Potts, 5 Tyias Browning, 6 Jack O’Connell, 7 Lewis Baker (12 Hallam Hope, 65), 8 James Ward Prowse (c ), 9 Nick Powell, 10 Max Clayton (14 Josh Murphy, 55), 11 Nathan Redmond (17 Adam Campbell, 55).
Substitutes not used: 18 Eric Dier.
Turkey U19s: 1 Onurcan Piri, 3 Ilkay Durmus, 4 Ahmet Yilmaz Calik, 6 Salih Ucan, 7 Enver Cenk Sahin, 8 Okay Yokuslu (c ), 9 Ibrahim Yilmaz, 10 Hakan Calhanoglu, 11 Kenan Karaman, 13 Muhammet Karpuz, 14 Hakan Cinemre.
Referee: Paul Tiernan
Attendance: 2269