Return of the Catt
Jamie Bradbury
Tuesday, 02 March, 2010
Lee Cattermole is excited about a return to England action on Wednesday.
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After missing the last four games through injury, a possible return to England action for the first time in six months is exciting Lee Cattermole.
The Sunderland midfielder last played for Stuart Pearce’s side, scoring the winning goal as captain against Macedonia, in September.
However, injury kept him out of the game in Greece four days later and he watched on from the stands as England took a point away from the Group Nine leaders.
England have since beaten Macedonia and Portugal at home and drawn in Lithuania. But now with the Greeks at home, and Cattermole back to fitness, the 21-year-old is hoping he gets a chance to return for his country once again on Wednesday night.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a while,” Cattermole told TheFA.con. “A chance to go away with England is always good, meeting up with the lads again and pulling on the Three Lions again.
“It was a nice occasion for me to be captain against Macedonia,” he recalls of his last cap. “I remember it was a tough game to play in, it was very hot, the pitch wasn’t the best, but we dealt with it and come away with the points.
“It’s always good to get a goal for England, but being our first game of the group, away from home and in tough conditions it was even more pleasing to get winner for the team.”
He continued: “Unfortunately I got a knock and couldn’t train properly after arriving in Greece, so had to sit the game out. It was a strange afternoon. I remember it being warm and sunny when we were at the hotel, but on the way to the game there were thunderstorms and heavy rain, so the lads played on a very wet pitch.
“Watching from the stands is always frustrating, but the lads did well and started brightly when Studge (Daniel Sturridge) put us in front,” added Cattermole. “Greece were a decent side, though, and their goalscorer was pulling the strings while up front they had a big target man who caused a few problems.
“Perhaps if Loachy was not in such good form they may have nicked all three points, so to come away with a draw was probably a fair result in the end.
“I’m expecting another tough game against them. They’ll obviously want to keep their place at the top of the group, but we are desperate to reach the Finals again, so we know we need to win.”
Tickets for this game remain on sale at just £10 for adults and £5 for concessions (under 16 and over 60) and can be booked via the Keepmoat Stadium ticket hotline on 01302 762 576.
The match kicks off at the earlier time of 6pm prior to the England senior team’s 8pm fixture with Egypt at Wembley and will also be screened live on ESPN.