VIDEO: Pleased with patience
Saturday, 26 May, 2012
England U19s Head Coach Noel Blake speaks about his team's 5-0 win over Slovenia.
By Nicholas Veevers
England U19s Head Coach Noel Blake saw his side make an ideal start to their Elite Qualifying Round games at Deepdale on Friday night, but says plans for their second game with Montenegro on Sunday is now his priority.
With just a day inbetween matches, Blake is already formulating his ideas for the match at Rochdale’s Spotland home but could draw on plenty of positives from the 5-0 victory over Slovenia.
He had warned his players in the build-up that they would need to show patience in all of their games this week and that was typified perfectly on Friday as a frustrating goal-less first half then led into a five goal scoring spree after the break.
"It's something we've been trying to get onto our young players about, being patient,” Blake told FATV after the game.
"It's something where we've been done over by in the past, trying to go gung-ho in the early stages and thinking we can win the game in the first minute.
"You can't always do that, at any level, particularly international football.
"So it was a matter of being patient and in the first half, we had some opportunities and created some good situations which didn't quite come off.
"But Slovenia gave us a tough game, they kept us busy and when the tide turns, you've got to capitalise on it.”
Following Montenegro’s 3-0 victory over Switzerland on Friday, Sunday’s match now takes on even more importance for Blake’s team and they know that another three points at Spotland would see them clear at the top of the group going into the final round of matches next Wednesday.
"This is what international football is about, especially in tournaments,” he added. “You play the first game, deal with it and then move onto the next one.
"It's a terrific start for us, but that's done now and put to bed, so we'll move onto the next one.”
Tickets for Sunday’s game at Rochdale cost £3 for adults and £1 for concessions and are available on the evening. Kick-off is at 7.30pm.