Published 26 May 2024 4 min read
Men's U18
Report: England MU18s 2-1 Morocco
Tom Curtis' Young Lions end the season with a win at St. George's Park
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England men's under-18s came from behind to beat Morocco U18s by 2-1 at St George’s Park on Sunday afternoon to be crowned as inaugural winners of the U18 Tri-Nations Trophy.
A second-half brace from Ethan Wheatley secured the win for the Three Lions, while Mohammed Hamony netted Morocco’s only goal of the game.
The match marked a historic moment as it was the first time England had hosted the North African nation on home soil at any level, before the teams observed a minute's applause before the game in tribute to former England staff member Craig Simmons, who had worked alongside many development teams over a number of years.
Morocco broke the deadlock through Hamony in the 14th minute. The ball was pulled back to find the forward, who lurked in the centre of the box and side-footed the ball into the bottom right corner.
The Young Lions had opportunities from corners to strike back but failed to test the goalkeeper and the visitors did well to close down the threat quickly to deny chances from open play.
However, England did carve open a chance as the clock hit 33, when Elijah Morrison crossed the ball in from the left to find the head of Matthew Warhurst. The header looked destined for the back of the net but Taha Benrhozil dived brilliantly to his left to deny the hosts an equaliser.
A second-half brace from Ethan Wheatley secured the win for the Three Lions, while Mohammed Hamony netted Morocco’s only goal of the game.
The match marked a historic moment as it was the first time England had hosted the North African nation on home soil at any level, before the teams observed a minute's applause before the game in tribute to former England staff member Craig Simmons, who had worked alongside many development teams over a number of years.
Morocco broke the deadlock through Hamony in the 14th minute. The ball was pulled back to find the forward, who lurked in the centre of the box and side-footed the ball into the bottom right corner.
The Young Lions had opportunities from corners to strike back but failed to test the goalkeeper and the visitors did well to close down the threat quickly to deny chances from open play.
However, England did carve open a chance as the clock hit 33, when Elijah Morrison crossed the ball in from the left to find the head of Matthew Warhurst. The header looked destined for the back of the net but Taha Benrhozil dived brilliantly to his left to deny the hosts an equaliser.
England came out with a lot more energy in the second half with three new sets of legs on the field.
Substitute Romelle Donovan made an instant impact as he twisted and turned to beat two men before spreading play wide. The ball was swung in from the right and after Benrhozil mistimed his claim, the loose ball fell to Wheatley who struck to draw his side level.
Wheatley bagged his second of the match nearly 20 minutes later with a six-yard tap-in, to propel the Young Lions into the lead.
The victory means Tom Curtis’ side end the 2023-24 campaign unbeaten in five, following on from their win over Northern Ireland earlier in the week.
England: 1 George Pickford (Everton) (GK), 2 Triston Rowe (Aston Villa), 3 Elijah Morrison (Bristol City), 4 Law McCabe (Middlesbrough), 5 Amara Nallo (Liverpool), 6 Ayden Heaven (Arsenal), 7 Ato Ampah (Chelsea), 8 Lewis Orford (West Ham United) ©, 9 Ajay Matthews (Middlesbrough), 10 Matthew Warhurst (Manchester City), 11 Jamaldeen Jimoh (Aston Villa)
Substitutes: 12 Matthew Henderson-Hall (Manchester City) for Rowe 61’, 13 Sam Proctor (Aston Villa) (GK) for Pickford 45’, 14 Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal) for McCabe 61’, 15 Somto Boniface (Chelsea) for Morrison 45’, 16 Harrison Murray-Campbell (Chelsea) for Nalla 69’, 17 Trey Nyoni (Liverpool) for Orford 69’, 18 Souleymane Sidibe (Stoke City) for Ampah 69’, 19 Ethan Wheatley (Manchester United), 20 Romelle Donovan (Birmingham City) for Warhurst 45’, 21 Joe Johnson (Luton Town) for Heaven 69’, 22 Elyh Harrison (Manchester United) (GK), 23 Kadan Young (Aston Villa) for Jimoh 69’
Head Coach: Tom Curtis
Goals: Wheatley 54’ 73’
Substitute Romelle Donovan made an instant impact as he twisted and turned to beat two men before spreading play wide. The ball was swung in from the right and after Benrhozil mistimed his claim, the loose ball fell to Wheatley who struck to draw his side level.
Wheatley bagged his second of the match nearly 20 minutes later with a six-yard tap-in, to propel the Young Lions into the lead.
The victory means Tom Curtis’ side end the 2023-24 campaign unbeaten in five, following on from their win over Northern Ireland earlier in the week.
England: 1 George Pickford (Everton) (GK), 2 Triston Rowe (Aston Villa), 3 Elijah Morrison (Bristol City), 4 Law McCabe (Middlesbrough), 5 Amara Nallo (Liverpool), 6 Ayden Heaven (Arsenal), 7 Ato Ampah (Chelsea), 8 Lewis Orford (West Ham United) ©, 9 Ajay Matthews (Middlesbrough), 10 Matthew Warhurst (Manchester City), 11 Jamaldeen Jimoh (Aston Villa)
Substitutes: 12 Matthew Henderson-Hall (Manchester City) for Rowe 61’, 13 Sam Proctor (Aston Villa) (GK) for Pickford 45’, 14 Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal) for McCabe 61’, 15 Somto Boniface (Chelsea) for Morrison 45’, 16 Harrison Murray-Campbell (Chelsea) for Nalla 69’, 17 Trey Nyoni (Liverpool) for Orford 69’, 18 Souleymane Sidibe (Stoke City) for Ampah 69’, 19 Ethan Wheatley (Manchester United), 20 Romelle Donovan (Birmingham City) for Warhurst 45’, 21 Joe Johnson (Luton Town) for Heaven 69’, 22 Elyh Harrison (Manchester United) (GK), 23 Kadan Young (Aston Villa) for Jimoh 69’
Head Coach: Tom Curtis
Goals: Wheatley 54’ 73’