Young Lions Blackpool bound
Friday, 12 October, 2012
England Under-21s will take on Northern Ireland at Bloomfield Road next month
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England will be bound for Blackpool next month as they take on Northern Ireland in an Under-21s friendly at Bloomfield Road.
The Young Lions, led by Coach Stuart Pearce, will take on the Northern Irish in their final outing of 2012 on Tuesday 13 November, kick-off 7.30pm.
It will be also the first time the two nations have met at Under-21 level.
Fans can get tickets to watch England’s young stars for the terrific price of just £10 for adults, £5 for children and a family ticket (two adults and two children) is only £25.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 0844 847 1953 or online at www.eticketing.co.uk/blackpoolfc
There are also great group offers available, too (see booking forms above).
Coach Pearce said: “It will be great to have a Home Nations tie to look forward to next month. Hopefully we’ll be in a position where we are building towards the European Championship Finals in Israel next year.
“Northern Ireland played our play-off opponents Serbia in the last qualifying campaign so they will provide us a good test.
“We have got a couple of Blackpool players in the current squad in the shape of Nathan Delfouneso and Thomas Ince, so it’ll be a really nice occasion for them to potentially play in front of their own fans.”
Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road ground, where the maestro Stanley Matthews used to dazzle the crowds, staged a full international against Ireland back in 1932. Another England legend, Dixie Dean, led England’s attack but it was team-mate Bobby Barclay who scored the only goal of the contest before a 25,000 crowd.
The stadium is still being chosen to host international matches, with our U19s, U16s (twice) and Women’s teams all in action there in the last seven years.
England’s U19s beat their Moldovan counterparts 1-0 in a UEFA Championship Qualifier in 2005, Sunderland’s Grant Leadbitter scoring with a penalty, while England’s Women rattled in eight goals without reply against the Maltese in a World Cup Qualifier three years ago.
England Under-21s v Northern Ireland will also be broadcast live on ESPN.