John Peacock saw his side take all three points in their opening match. Image: The FA
England under 17s kicked off this year’s Algarve Tournament with three points against Holland yesterday afternoon.
Southampton youngster Josh Sims scored one and created the other as England ran out 2-0 winners in Lagos, Portugal.
The game started slowly with neither side threatening in the opening quarter of an hour.
Sims looked dangerous and confident but would have been confused as he was booked for nothing more than what appeared to be his boot coming off midway through the first half.
His goal came just after half-time when he raced through between the defence to latch on to a pass and cut back before shooting home.
Joshua Onomah netted England’s second just minutes from time when Sims rushed in to take advantage of a poor back pass and squared for the incoming Onomah to slot in the back of the net.
Although England looked clinical going forward, it was the defensive display that Head Coach John Peacock identified as a strength. He told The FA: “We didn’t have many days to prepare them to be honest, so we have had to prepare wisely.
“If you spend a bit of time working on it in training and take it on board, then it will have a positive effect.
“The focus has been on defending as a team from the front to the back and I thought they transferred that into the game really well. They stopped a talented Dutch team playing the way that they wanted to – which was trying to play through us – and remained focused.
“It is a nice springboard for us to go ahead in the week.”
England’s next match will be against the host nation Portugal on Friday afternoon.
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