ngland 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
