England C: 1
De Havilland 45+5
Wales C: 0
Ryan De Havilland sent England C to victory over Cymru C at Altrincham.
The Barnet man finished a rebound at the end of the first half as Non-League‘s Three Lions avenged last season’s defeat.
Mark Jones’ side blew England away that day, putting the shell-shocked visitors out of sight with four first-half goals on their way to a 4-0 win.
And they had an early sight of goal here at Altrincham with a dangerous free-kick just outside the box. Kayne Owen lined up the ball and sent a low, skidding drive that was smuggled behind by Wealdstone keeper Sam Howes.
Only Joe Sbarra played for England in the last encounter against Wales, coming off the bench, with the rest of the squad all new faces.
That included Altrincham’s very own Josh Lundstram, who was handed a first start on his home ground.
Oldham Athletic striker Joe Nuttall was one of four late call-ups following some withdrawals including Notts County striker Macaulay Langstaff, as a precaution with a niggle, and Wrexham‘s Sam Dalby, who had been hit by a sickness bug at the weekend.
Nuttall started up top with Maidenhead’s Emile Acquah and had what seemed to be a strong penalty shout waved away when felled in the area.
With the rain falling, chances on the saturated pitch were a little hard to come by.
The half had been stop-start – Gateshead defender Kenton Richardson limped off – but after withstanding some pressure, England grew into the game. Captain Tyler Cordner was in complete command at the heart of the defence alongside substitute Jesse Debrah, shutting down attacks, winning aerial duels and striding out of defence with the ball at his feet.
Ryan Sears did have a sight of goal for Cymru as they finished the half strongly, arriving onto a ball at the back post where Howes was able to block well.
England’s goal came at the end of the five minutes stoppage time.
Sbarra escaped down the side in the box and pulled an low cross back into the centre – De Havilland’s first shot was blocked but he didn’t need asking twice with the follow up, tucking the rebound away.
Sbarra seized on a loose ball just after the hour mark that put him one-on-one with Connor Roberts in the box, however the substitute stopper did well to divert the England attacker away from goal.
The game followed a similar pattern to the first-half, with few clear cut chances. Vincent Harper, impressive on the night, was sent up the left, his cut-back found Nuttall, but his shot didn’t trouble Roberts.
Cymru can never be written off and chief Jones’ introduction of Nathan Wood gave the visitors a late spark. The lively forward sent over two dangerous crosses from the left that an alert England had to defend. And they did just that, holding on for victory.
Att: 840
Full reaction in Sunday’s NLP
England C: Howes (Male 90); Scott-Morris, Richardson (Debrah 21), Cordner, Harper; Lundstram, Booty (Phipps 85), De Havilland (Vennings 75); Sbarra (Dyson 67); Nuttall, Acquah
Cymru C: Ramsay (Roberts 46), M Davies, Owen (Jenkins 89), Lewis, D Davies, Sears, Price (McCarthy 66), Smith (Williams 77), Green, McLaggon (Ahmun 81), Jones (Wood 61)
Subs not used: Roberts: Edwards, Bradley, Dafydd
