Lions see off Ireland
saw no post of these so here we go
Kenny Swain's England U16s kicked off their Montaigu Tournament campaign with a confident display against Ireland, scoring three goals with opportunities for more.
The annual competition in France sees the very best of youth football from around the globe competing over eight days of intense preparation for future competitive tournaments.
England started the game strongly and worked hard to press home their advantage and dominance in possession. With chances flowing for the Young Lions the most important thing for Kenny Swain's team was not to lose concentration at the back, but Ireland rarely had a chance on goal.
Despite the strong start it was not until the 26th minute that England took the lead, with Manchester United midfielder Oliver Norwood scoring from the spot. His club teammate Nicky Ajose was brought down in the box and Norwood stepped up to put his country in front from 12-yards out.
On the stroke of half time Norwood made it 2-0 with a powerful header at the far post. It was more than deserved for the overwhelming dominance that Swain's side had enjoyed in the first period, and it was a great way to start the tournament for Norwood especially.
Harry Forrester completed the scoring with just nine minutes to play, going through on goal the Watford forward showed composure to slide the ball past the onrushing Irish keeper.
Kenny Swain admitted he was pleased with the way the game had gone: "It is a solid start and all things considered we are relatively satisfied with how the game went for us," Swain told TheFA.com.
"From a defensive point of view there are one or two things we can work on, but we were good in possession and we controlled the game throughout.
"We have scored three good goals and when you really look at the chances it could have been more for us. In truth they haven't really threatened our goal either.
"The main test will be the number of games for these players in such a short space of time. This is a friendly tournament but it is crucial preparation for the competitive tournaments that these players will go on to compete in should they make the step up to U17 level next season."
England: 1 Wesley Foderingham, 2 Chris Solly (14 Adam Smith 76), 3 Ben Gordon, 4 Oliver Norwood, 5 Kyle Bartley, 6 Thomas Cruise, 7 Matthew James (17 Mitchell McPike 55), 8 Dean Parrett (12 Adam Phillip 72), 9 Nathan Delfouneso, 10 John Bostock (18 Harry Forrester 55), 15 Nicholas Ajose ( 11 Andros Townsend 76)
Subs Not Used: 13 Declan Rudd, 16 Jacob Mellis
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