England head coach Neil Dewsnip believes the resilience shown by his Under-18 side will go a long away to determining their futures after battling to a 2-0 victory against Poland.
George Hirst’s double proved the difference at Stevenage’s LAMEX Stadium, poking home in the first half before duly converting a penalty for his second strike in 11 minutes.
But England had things far from their own way, with Poland boasting a hatful chances in the first half of this, the first game in the U18 International Tournament.
But the defensive unit was to come to the fore for the hosts, with Dewsnip left delighted that his side were able to show exactly what they are about when it mattered most.
“It was a really tough game,” he admitted.”I thought in the first half they really came at us.
“So we started quite well and then we got overpowered, dominated a little bit dare I say it.
“There was a time where I thought we would concede a goal but, credit to our players, they showed a little bit of mental resilience - which is really important and will stand them in good stead going forward.
“We changed it tactically at half-time, we thought we were a little bit passive and allowed them too much easy possession, so we sorted that out"
Dewsnip’s side started in positive enough fashion with Jonathan Leko initially looking dangerous, but from there Poland became the more cohesive unit.
All the best chances in the opening 20 minutes went the way of the visitors, with Paweł Olszewski, Sebastian Szymański and captain Adam Chrzamowski all going close, the latter drawing a smart stop from Ellery Balcombe.
England began to look more dangerous after the half hour mark, Marcus McGuane finding Elliot Embleton before crossing for Hirst to slot in the opener.
It was to be 2-0 shortly after the break, Hirst dusting himself down after being tripped in the box to slot home the resulting penalty.
And the Sheffield Wednesday striker could have had himself a hat-trick too, spurning a glorious chance on the cusp of second-half injury time, with the head coach admitting mixed emotions from his star man of the evening.
“To be fair we’ve got a goal from that pressing, albeit from a penalty kick,” added Dewsnip. “So we’re very pleased with that. Well done the coaches and the players for that.
“George first and foremost worked really, really hard. He’s very honest as a player; his work ethic defensively for the team has an impact on everybody else.
“He’s scored a great first goal, got himself a penalty kick which he’s converted. Then he’s in bits in the dressing over missing his third one right at the end. He can be really pleased with his performance.”
England Under-18s: 1 Ellery Balcombe (Brentford), 3 Tolaji Bola (Arsenal), 4 Marcus McGuane (Arsenal), 5 Morgan Feeney (Everton), 2 Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham Hotspur), 6 Jonathan Dinzeyi (Tottenham Hotspur), 8 Dennis Adeniran (Fulham), 10 Andre Dozzell (Ipswich Town), 11 Elliot Embleton (Sunderland), 9 George Hirst (Sheffield Wednesday), 7 Jonathan Leko (West Bromwich Albion).
Substitutes: 16 Niall Ennis (Wolverhampton Wanderers) for Leko 63.
Substitutes not used: 13 Jake Turner (Bolton Wanderers), 12 Jaden Brown (Tottenham Hotspur), 14 Sadou Diallo (Manchester City), 15 Tariq Uwakwe (Chelsea), 17 George Tanner (Manchester United).
Head coach: Neil Dewsnip
Goals: George Hirst 38, 49.
Poland Under-18s: 1 Kamil Grabara, 4 Adam Chrzanowski, 13 Oskar Repka, 2 Paweł Olslewski, 3 Tymoteusz Puchacz, 18 Daniel Mikołajewski, 7 Sebastian Szymański, 16 Bartosz Slisz, 14 Jukub Moder, 10 David Kopacz, 9 Dawid Kurminowski
Substitutes: 5 Maximilian Funk for Mikołajewski 46, 17 Marco Drawz for Moder 46, 15 Michał Feliks for Kurminowski 61, 11 Bartosz Wiktoruk for Szymański 61, 6 Damian Pawłowski for Slisz 81, 8 Riccardo Grym for Olszewski 84.
Substitutes not used: 12 Miłosz Mleczko
Head coach: Lukasz Becella
Attendance: 2,655
