Fairclough's joy
by James Marshall
Thursday, 10 February, 2011
Manager "thrilled" with ICT semi-final win over Belgium.
England C Manager Paul Fairclough was delighted with his team’s win last night as they beat Belgium 1-0 to progress to the Final of the International Challenge Trophy.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with the result,” he said after the game. “The game was really tough. Belgium are a good team, but I am delighted to get through to the Final and we will look forward to that now.”
Luton Town striker Matthew Barnes-Homer scored the only goal of the game with a fine finish after seven minutes.
“Matthew played the lone striker role and was exceptional,” said Fairclough. “He took his goal really well, it was a great finish.
“On a whole it was a great display by the lads, with so many players getting their first cap it was a magnificent team effort and we jelled quickly.”
The Manager was also complimentary of the support of the fans in the local area.
“I would like to thank the people of Luton for coming out in their numbers tonight. It was a really vocal crowd and a great England atmosphere. It was great to see the kids here too and I believe had England not been on telly we would have doubled the crowd.”
The Three Lions will now look forward to playing either Portugal or Italy in the Final, with the other semi-final taking place on the 23 March.
“The Final will be a mouth-watering fixture as both Portugal and Italy will be great crowd pullers.”
Image courtesy of www.ppauk.com
