Chamber's Nets TWO

[davieG]

England v Portugal

FA Friendly International Tournament

3 September 2006

The County Ground, Swindon FC

England

4-0

Portugal

Chambers 21, 72, Clancy 30, Moses 39

John Peacock's U17s swept past Portugal at Swindon's County Ground with some spectacular goals and relentless attacking football in front of almost four thousand fans.

Under the watchful eye of Sir Trevor Brooking, The FA's Director of Football Development, England's U17s turned in another convincing victory and clinched The FA International Tournament.

Victor Moses set the tone early on with a powerful run through midfield, with deftness of touch and agility he sped past three defenders before shooting wide from 20 yards.

Daniel Rose then found himself on the end of a fine move involving Moses and Ashley Chambers, but Rose's guided effort was gathered comfortably by Ruca in the Portugal goal.

Portugal showed their attacking intent after 13 minutes with a fine combination between Evandro and Martins that had to be quickly snuffed out by Alex Smithies.

Less than 60 seconds later the Three Lions could not have come closer to opening the scoring when Henri Lansbury hit the crossbar with superb effort from 20 yards.

Daniel Rose showed he was causing real problems when Martins was forced to bring him down on the edge of the area. From the resulting free-kick Lansbury came close with a dipping right-footed shot.

Ashley Chambers then gave England their deserved lead as he latched onto a pull back from captain Rhys Murphy to power home his fourth goal for the U17s.

Alex Smithies helped keep England in the lead five minutes with a fine stop to deny Martins at point blank range.

Just shy of the half hour mark Chambers almost added a second goal when the defence seemed to open in his path and presented him with the chance to shoot but his effort was taken well by Ruca.

Moments later it was 2-0 when Steven Clancy showed fine work down the right flank before powering home from a narrow angle that caught the Portuguese keeper off guard.

The scoring continued in the first half as John Peacock's side carried on where they left off at Aldershot on Friday. This time it was Victor Moses who scored an absolute screamer of a goal moments before the interval.

Bursting through the midfield as he had been doing all afternoon he gave his effort the finish it deserved with a rocket that left Ruca rooted to the spot.

There was just enough time before the whistle went for Moses to give the crowd another trick to cheer, lifting the ball up and over the onrushing defender reminiscent of Jay Jay Okocha against Arsenal three years ago.

Five minutes into the second half Moses almost scored again with a fierce half-volley that Ruca could not hold. Tristan Plummer followed in but the Portuguese keeper was quick to react and made up for letting the shot slip through his arms with a brave save.

Ashley Chambers added another stunning strike to give the scoreline extra emphasis, his second goal of the game coming from distance with bend and power that left the keeper with no chance.

One To Watch: It is difficult to pick out one name when all the players on the pitch performed so well. From Alex Smithies in goal through the back four, Lansbury, Rose and Murphy in midfield to the forwards - it was a performance to be proud of.

However Crystal Palace's Victor Moses demonstrated great potential and his performance delighted the fans at the County Ground. A constant thorn in the arm, he provided a number of chances for himself and his teammates and scored a spectacular goal.

Teams

England: 1 Alex Smithies (Huddersfield), 3 James Reid (Nottingham Forest), 4 Henri Lansbury (Arsenal) (15 Jordan Spence (West Ham Utd) 66), 5 Steven Clancy (Aston Villa), 6 Joe Mattock (Leicester City), 8 Daniel Rose (Leeds United), 9 Ashley Chambers (Leicester City), 10 Victor Moses (Crystal Palace) (7 Jonathan Franks (Middlesbrough) 50), 12 Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi (Chelsea) (2 Liam Darville (Leeds United) 40), 16 Rhys Murphy (Arsenal), 18 Tristan Plummer (Bristol City)

Subs: 13 Jason Steele (Middlesbrough), 11 Thomas Harvey (West Ham Utd), 14 Michael Woods (Chelsea), 17 Moses Barnett

Portugal: 1 Ruca, 2 Daniel Coelho, 3 Oscar Sa (15 Joao Reis 75), 4 Bruno Simoe, 5 Ernesto, 6 Dinis, 7 Rui Almeida (17 Tiago Torres 72), 8 Andre Martins, 10 Evandro, 16 Christiano, 18 Pedro Concalves (11 Bolinhas 68)

Subs: 12 Hugo Figueiredo, 9 Tiago Almeida, 13 Ruben Ferreira, 14 Ricardo Daniel,

Referee: K Stroud

Assistant Referees: B Malone, J Cox

Fourth Official: G Scott

Attendance: 3,608

Source The FA.com

[Daggers]

England:[/b] 1 Alex Smithies (Huddersfield), 3 James Reid (Nottingham Forest), 4 Henri Lansbury (Arsenal) (15 Jordan Spence (West Ham Utd) 66), 5 Steven Clancy (Aston Villa), 6 Joe Mattock (Leicester City), 8 Daniel Rose (Leeds United), 9 Ashley Chambers (Leicester City), 10 Victor Moses (Crystal Palace) (7 Jonathan Franks (Middlesbrough) 50), 12 Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi (Chelsea) (2 Liam Darville (Leeds United) 40), 16 Rhys Murphy (Arsenal), 18 Tristan Plummer (Bristol City)

Subs: 13 Jason Steele (Middlesbrough), 11 Thomas Harvey (West Ham Utd), 14 Michael Woods (Chelsea) , 17 Moses Barnett

How many of these names will be tapped up by Chelsea this season

[Thracian]

It's no surprise to me to see Chambers doing so well.

[lookwhaticando]

This Joe Mattock - let's get him in the first team. NOW.

Just thought I'd say something contraversial, we've been lacking controversy here in recent days.

[Steven]

Chambo for the First team.

[DaveyJ]

How many of these names will be tapped up by Chelsea this season

Lets hope neither Chambers or Mattock! Nice to see that Leicester have two starting players on the England U17 team, while Chelsea only have one.

[Floating Fox]

Errrm is it me or do appear to have a very talented youth team

[Fox in a Box]

This chambers boyo seems to be quite good at present. I do hope that we secure him for the future as the vultures will swoop.

When can we get him on our books? I mean for full pro deal. Surely hes another heskey in the making and he had a debut at 16 against norwich.

I know he's had a CUP debut but surely a league Debut aint far offski.

[nhfox]

How many of these names will be tapped up by Chelsea this season

I was thinking the exact same thing <_<

[The People's Hero]

We should poach Alex Smithies from Huddersfield IMO.

[Bert]

This chambers boyo seems to be quite good at present. I do hope that we secure him for the future as the vultures will swoop.

When can we get him on our books? I mean for full pro deal. Surely hes another heskey in the making and he had a debut at 16 against norwich.

I know he's had a CUP debut but surely a league Debut aint far offski.

1st March 2007.

[Thracian]

This chambers boyo seems to be quite good at present. I do hope that we secure him for the future as the vultures will swoop.

When can we get him on our books? I mean for full pro deal. Surely hes another heskey in the making and he had a debut at 16 against norwich.

I know he's had a CUP debut but surely a league Debut aint far offski.

In whose place?

Dodds hasn't had a sniff yet and it's hard enough getting our bad players shifted without trying to make a case against the better ones.

More likely he'll be kept under wraps til he's 17 and then, before he signs the contract, which will presumably be offered, he'll likely be asking - "will I be getting a game?". It will be interesting to hear the answer.

[Fez of Mahrez]

This is the craziest use of punctuation I've ever seen.

[Ric Flair]

This is the craziest use of punctuation I've ever seen.

[lookwhaticando]

I'd like to reiterate at this time that Joe Mattock should be in our starting 11.

Where along the back four does he play? I thought he was a left back? That's very handy, we could do with a left back.

Thoughts?

[filbertway]

I'd like to reiterate at this time that Joe Mattock should be in our starting 11.

Where along the back four does he play? I thought he was a left back? That's very handy, we could do with a left back.

Thoughts?

Mattock the new sheehan?

[Ric Flair]

I'd like to reiterate at this time that Joe Mattock should be in our starting 11.

Where along the back four does he play? I thought he was a left back? That's very handy, we could do with a left back.

Thoughts?

I've watched Mattock a few times and he's a left back/left winger. Very strong and aggressive for his age and has good pace and vision. Definately looks like he could make it with alot of hard work, whether he's even slightly ready for this level is not something I couldn't decide just yet. But he does look talented.

[lookwhaticando]

Mattock the new sheehan?

You're confusing me for someone else.

Mattock is the new Smedley (for me!)

(I gave up on Smedley as he seems to have disappeared)

[filbertway]

You're confusing me for someone else.

Mattock is the new Smedley (for me!)

I know you're not thrac

Therefore it makes no sence why I said it :pinch:

[lookwhaticando]

I know you're not thrac

Therefore it makes no sence why I said it :pinch:

Nah, it's all good. There's not just one person who approves of the youngsters, broadly speaking.

Afterall, how many of us rave about Wesolowski?

[Thracian]

Nah, it's all good. There's not just one person who approves of the youngsters, broadly speaking.

Afterall, how many of us rave about Wesolowski?

There seems to be a lot more people taking notice of and showing enthusiasm for the youngsters now than there was a year ago.

To me they're the first breath of fresh air to be seen in what has been a pretty dour and uninspired set up for far too long. Together with the arrival of Hume and Fryatt, of course, and the emergence of Kisnorbo.

I've hardly noticed Mattock and Smedley but they seem highly regarded so that's encouraging too.

My main concern is how all the attackers are going to fit in and where are we going to get a class midfield player and left-back from anytime soon so that all they ability we do have isn't needlessly compromised.