Published 23 September 2022 2 min read
Men's U18
Report: England MU18s 2-1 Faroe Islands
Young Lions make it two wins from two games during their September trip to Spain
Dominic Ballard's double helped England men's under-18s to a 2-1 victory over the Faroe Islands on Friday, to make it two wins from two games at the Costa Calida Supercup in Pinatar.
Facing up to a solid and well-organised Faroese outfit, Neil Ryan's team had to show their patience and control to earn what was ultimately a deserved result.
They also had to manage the game themselves, with an opponent who were quick to break on the Young Lions given an opportunity.
But Patience is something which this team have already displayed, having waited until stoppage time to find a winner in Wednesday's game with the Netherlands and it was a similar story again.
Southampton striker Ballard's first of the afternoon arrived in the opening stages of the game, clinically finishing past Faroese goalkeeper Fayo Kruse.
Facing up to a solid and well-organised Faroese outfit, Neil Ryan's team had to show their patience and control to earn what was ultimately a deserved result.
They also had to manage the game themselves, with an opponent who were quick to break on the Young Lions given an opportunity.
But Patience is something which this team have already displayed, having waited until stoppage time to find a winner in Wednesday's game with the Netherlands and it was a similar story again.
Southampton striker Ballard's first of the afternoon arrived in the opening stages of the game, clinically finishing past Faroese goalkeeper Fayo Kruse.
While England were hoping that might kick-start their goalscoring, they were pegged back midway through the first half when Aki Samuelsen took advantage of a loose ball to fire a smart finish past Tommy Reid and into the bottom corner.
With the teams level at the break, the Young Lions spent the majority of the second half pushing for a winner but found the Faroese in resilient mood with little space in and around the area.
And it was from the penalty spot that the winner eventually arrived with just five minutes remaining, with Ballard giving Kruse no chance by firing into the top corner.
England MU18s: 22 Tommy Reid (Brighton & Hove Albion), 2 Sai Sachdev (Sheffield United), 3 Kane Taylor (Manchester City), 4 Samuel Rak-Sakyi (Chelsea), 5 Alfie Dorrington (Tottenham Hotspur), 6 Max Alleyne (Manchester City), 7 William Alves (Leicester City), 8 Harry Whitwell (West Bromwich Albion), 9 Dominic Ballard (Southampton), 10 Leo Castledine (Chelsea) (c), 11 Joel Ndala (Manchester City)
Substitutes: 15 Bobby Clark (Liverpool) for Whitwell 70, 17 Amario Cozier-Duberry (Arsenal) for Sachdev 80, 14 Jobe Bellingham (Birmingham City) for Rak-Sakyi 90
Substitutes not used: 12 Jacob Wright (Manchester City), 13 Luca Gunter (Tottenham Hotspur), 16 Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), 18 Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), 19 Jamie Donley (Tottenham Hotspur), 20 Tyler Fredricson (Manchester United), 21 Lino Sousa (Arsenal), 22 True Grant (Manchester City), 23 Josh Feeney (Aston Villa)
Goals: Dominic Ballard 7, 85 (pen)
Head coach: Neil Ryan
With the teams level at the break, the Young Lions spent the majority of the second half pushing for a winner but found the Faroese in resilient mood with little space in and around the area.
And it was from the penalty spot that the winner eventually arrived with just five minutes remaining, with Ballard giving Kruse no chance by firing into the top corner.
England MU18s: 22 Tommy Reid (Brighton & Hove Albion), 2 Sai Sachdev (Sheffield United), 3 Kane Taylor (Manchester City), 4 Samuel Rak-Sakyi (Chelsea), 5 Alfie Dorrington (Tottenham Hotspur), 6 Max Alleyne (Manchester City), 7 William Alves (Leicester City), 8 Harry Whitwell (West Bromwich Albion), 9 Dominic Ballard (Southampton), 10 Leo Castledine (Chelsea) (c), 11 Joel Ndala (Manchester City)
Substitutes: 15 Bobby Clark (Liverpool) for Whitwell 70, 17 Amario Cozier-Duberry (Arsenal) for Sachdev 80, 14 Jobe Bellingham (Birmingham City) for Rak-Sakyi 90
Substitutes not used: 12 Jacob Wright (Manchester City), 13 Luca Gunter (Tottenham Hotspur), 16 Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), 18 Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), 19 Jamie Donley (Tottenham Hotspur), 20 Tyler Fredricson (Manchester United), 21 Lino Sousa (Arsenal), 22 True Grant (Manchester City), 23 Josh Feeney (Aston Villa)
Goals: Dominic Ballard 7, 85 (pen)
Head coach: Neil Ryan