Report: England MU17s 5-0 Northern Ireland

England men’s under-17s signed off March’s international camp with a resounding 5-0 victory over opponents Northern Ireland.

After a resolute win against Slovenia at the weekend, the Young Lions extended their unbeaten streak with a commanding performance at St. George’s Park.

The home side opened the scoring within six minutes courtesy of a wonderful finish by Finlay Gorman. The move starting with excellent wide play by Ryan McAidoo. The winger cut it back on the touchline, providing Gorman the chance to find the top left corner.

And England continued to pile the pressure on, as their wing-play proved fruitful once more.

This time from the left flank – a brilliant piece of individual skill from Rio Ngumoha allowed him to fire a shot into the bottom corner and double the Young Lions’ lead.

Neil Ryan’s side’s persistence paid off, as Gorman added his second of the game. The midfielder connected sweetly with a volley after another twisting drive and cross from Ngumoha, with just 25 on the clock.

And England added another 15 minutes out from the break. Max Dowman was at the heart of the move, picking up the ball on the edge of the area before driving into the box and cooly finishing for four.
England continued to prove a nuisance on both flanks after the interval, as Ngumoha and McAidoo continued to provide width on either side.

It would be the former who scored the fifth for Neil Ryan’s side with Ngumoha cutting in from the left again before expertly dispatching his second of the game.

The Young Lions held their composure throughout the second period, seeing out a comfortable victory in their final UEFA U17s EUROs qualifying round fixture.

Ryan’s side now turn their attention to preparations for the upcoming tournament which will be hosted in Albania this May.

England: 13 Lanre Awesu (West Ham United), 3 Dean Benamar (Crystal Palace), 4 Chinazaekpere Nwosu (West Ham United), 10 Max Dowman (Arsenal), 11 Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), 12 Freddie Simmonds (Brighton & Hove Albion), 14 Reigan Heskey (Manchester City), 15 Jun’Ai Byfield (Tottenham Hotspur), 17 Ryan McAidoo (Manchester City), 19 Finlay Gorman (Manchester City), 20 Bradley Burrowes (Aston Villa)

Substitutes: 5 Kaden Braithwaite (Manchester City) for Dowman 45, 8 Louis Page (Leicester City) for Nwosu 45, 9 Alejandro Rodriguez (Olympique Lyonnais) for McAidoo 70, 7 Harry Howell (Brighton & Hove Albion) for Burrowes 74

Substitutes not used: 1 Jack Porter (Arsenal), 6 Malachi Hardy (Tottenham Hotspur), 16 Seth Ridgeon (Fulham)

Head coach: Neil Ryan

Goals: Gorman 6, 25, Ngumoha 19, 64, Dowman 30