Aidy Boothroyd delighted with attitude of his young side

Saturday 06 Sep 2014
Aidy Boothroyd was leading the U20s for the first time on Friday

Aidy Boothroyd could not hide his delight after beginning his reign as England U20 Head Coach with a dominant display in Telford.

In their season-opener, the Young Lions dispatched Romania in clinical fashion with a 6-0 victory at the New Bucks Head Stadium.

And the manager was pleased with the week together as a squad, which was capped off by goals from Rolando Aarons, Josh Murphy, Callum Robinson (2), Lewis Baker and Kwame Thomas.

England 6-0 Romania

U20 international match
Friday 5 September
New Bucks Head Stadium, AFC Telford United

"I couldn’t have wished for a better start. I think it ends off a really good week," said Boothroyd.

After a frustrating first half, in which England dominated but were unable to find a breakthrough, six second-half strikes gave the Young Lions a resounding victory.

And Boothroyd said it was a positive learning experience for his young players.

"I said at half-time that we’ve got to be patient and we’ve got to keep going and banging at the door. 

England's starting eleven in Telford

"I knew we had the players to score, but whilst it’s 1-0 it’s always a little bit sticky and you’ve got to be super-professional. And they were.

"It's been a terrific week." 

Boothroyd handed England debuts to four newcomers to the international scene, after training with his squad at St. George's Park since last Sunday.

Newcastle United’s Rolando Aarons was handed a starting berth, less than a week after scoring his first goal in the Premier League for the Magpies. 

“Rolando was excellent on his debut, but I don’t think there was a bad performance between them”

Aidy Boothroyd England U20 manager

The forward rewarded his manager’s faith by scoring the opening goal and creating two more.

Manchester United’s Josh Harrop and Exeter City pair Christy Sym - who had earlier been training with Roy Hodgson's senior team at St. George's Park - and Matt Grimes were also handed their first international caps as second-half substitutes.

And Boothroyd says he was pleased by the overall team performance, as well as individuals.

"Sometimes when you leave players out they sulk, but this team don’t," he added. 

"They just get around each other and get on with it and that’s good. It makes it easy for a coach to be able to deal with that.

Norwich City youngster Josh Murphy scored the goal of the game

"Rolando was excellent on his debut, but I don’t think there was a bad performance between them." 

He added: "We’ve got two minibuses from Exeter full of their supporters who have made the journey up to support their two players Christy Pym and Matty Grimes, so I'm delighted for them and that club.

"We’ve got a strong group in the U20s. As long as we can keep everybody fit and get one or two back, I think we’ll have a strong squad."

By Jamie Reid Senior Writer at New Bucks Head Stadium