Hungary 1-4 England
U19 international fixture
1.30pm, Thursday 14 November 2013
Globall Football Park, Telki
England U19s put on a fine display to beat Hungary 4-1 and in doing so ensured finished 2013 unbeaten.
First-half goals from Josh Murphy and Paul Digby, and second-half strikes from Mason Bennett and Callum Robinson were enough to ensure Attila Talaber’s late effort was nothing more than a consolation goal - as the Young Lions ended the year with a record of seven wins and three draws.
England were in Telki to the west of the capital Budapest to take on the hosts of next summer’s UEFA European U19 Championship and head coach Noel Blake will be more than content with the performance of his team as they overcame a strong opponent in preparation for the Elite Round of qualifying in May 2014.
With England operating a 3-5-2 system it was the hosts who pressed in the opening stages. Gergely Bobal skimmed the bar with an effort from range and five minutes passed before England ventured into Hungary’s half with any real intent.
But it was that first attack that broke the deadlock for the visitors.
Alex Hrabina in the Hungary goal was put under pressure and he was forced to rush his clearance, which fell to Joe Rothwell 40 yards from goal.
The Manchester United midfielder controlled exquisitely, beat the oncoming defender and played in Josh Murphy, who finished calmly, low to Hrabina’s right.
After the goal the hosts did not let their heads drop and continued to press as they had done in the opening stages. Again Bobal was at the heart of the action as he combined well with Zoltan Farkas before firing just over from the edge of the box.
As the first half progressed, however, England began to find their feet and retain the ball with increasing confidence.
Despite not featuring at U19s level together before, Rothwell and Chelsea’s Lewis Baker looked a well-tuned partnership in the centre of midfield and on 26 minutes England had a fantastic to double their lead.
Neat passing between Baker and Rothwell led to Paul Digby finding himself in space in the middle of the park. He floated an inch-perfect pass down the right flank to Mason Bennett, who cut inside and beat his man in one motion, but was unable to direct his left-foot shot into the corner of the net.
In the build up to the game Blake had insisted “we don’t do friendlies” and his words rang true for both sides – it what was a highly competitive fixture for both outfits.
Three bookings – two for England and one for Hungary – and eight fouls in the space of five first-half minutes was testament to that sentiment.
The game had become niggly and with half time approaching both coaches were keeping an eye on the clock.
Before then, though, and following another unnecessary foul on the edge of the box the Hungarians were presented with a free-kick in dangerous position. Mario Nemeth’s effort beat the wall, but Luke Coddington was up to the challenge and made a fine save low to his right.
It proved a crucial point of the game, as moments later England went up the other end of the field and doubled their lead, this time with Murphy the provider.
The left winger beat his man with consummate ease and squared for Paul Digby in the centre and the Barnsley midfielder composed himself, sent Hrabina the wrong way and slotted home confidently to make it 2-0.
The second half began much as the first had – with England on the back foot in the opening exchanges, and before breaking well and punishing their oponents.
Shay Facey fouled Bobal on the edge of the box, and Attila Talaber’s curling free-kick was spectacularly saved by Coddington – his second of the game.
Moments later Bennett won possession in the middle of the field, picked out Murphy in space on the left before sprinting into the box to support his team-mate, who repaid efforts as he squared to the striker. The Derby County man calmly fired past the helpless Hrabina to put England 3-0 up.
With the game seemingly sewn up, England’s three-goal cushion allowed Blake to ring the changes. The outstanding Murphy was replaced, but the hosts were unlikely to relax when they saw his replacement was twin brother Jacob.
Chris Long, Callum Robinson and Jerome Williams were also called into action – all forward players and all eager to get among the goals.
Talaber’s 73rd-minute free-kick beat Coddington at his near post - the only blip on an otherwise outstanding afternoon for the Middlesbrough goalkeeper.
But it mattered not – as substitute Robinson broke free in the box in the closing stages and rifled home with a powerful right-foot shot to put the game out of the reach of Hungary once and for all, and ensure Blake’s boys signed off 2013 with a win.
England U19s
1 Luke Coddington, 2 Calum Chambers (captain), 3 Matthew Targett, 4 Lewis Baker, 5 Ola Aina (15 John Swift, 75), 6 Shay Facey, 7 Jordon Ibe (12 Jerome Williams, 63), 8 Joe Rothwell (17 Chris Long, 63), 9 M Bennett (14 Callum Robinson, 63), 10 Paul Digby (18 Ben Pearson, 75), 11 Josh Murphy (16 Jacob Murphy, 63).
Subs not used: 13 Mitchell Beeney.
Head coach: Noel Blake
Goals: Josh Murphy (5), Digby (32), Bennett (57), Robinson (88)
Bookings Chambers, Digby, Aina
Hungary U19s
1 Alex Hrabina, 3 Attila Talaber, 5 Tamas Krisztian, 6 David Bobal, 7 Zoltan Medgyes, (21 Krisztopher Vida, 61), 9 Gergely Bobal, 10 Mario Nemeth, 11 David Forgacs (23 Szabolcs Varga, 46), 17 Zoltan Farkas, 19 Zsolt Kalmar, 20 David Asztalos.
Subs not used: 12 Domonkos Leindler, 4 Marton Lorentz, 14 Dominik Nagy, 16 Mihaly Csabi, 18 Viktor Pongracz.
Head coach Maszoly Geza
Goals Talaber (73)
Bookings Kalmar
Referee Adam Radvawyi
