England make winning start

England got their UEFA Under-17 Championship campaign off to a winning start as they secured a 3-2 victory over Finland in their opening Group A match today.

Early shock
England found themselves a goal behind in only the first minute, when Finland took a shock lead after a mix-up between captain David Raven and goalkeeper Steven Drench allowed Mika Ääritalo to slot the ball into an open goal.

Hogg equaliser
In front of only a small band of fans who had braved the driving rain and stiff breeze inside the Gladsaxe stadium, England soon regained their composure and began to dominate possession. Centre-back Chris Hogg drew England level as he deflected Mark Smyth's 12th-minute free-kick past a helpless Ville Liskola in the Finland goal.

Finland reeling
Both sides battled hard in an engaging encounter but failed to add to the scoring before the interval. If England had been caught cold at the start of the first half, it was Finland who were left reeling when Smyth put England ahead a minute after the restart. Ross Gardner curled in a corner, Gary Borrowdale headed on and Smyth volleyed past Liskola.

Ääritalo double
Ääritalo, isolated in attack for much of the match, was on hand to score his second of the match to make it 2-2 ten minutes later after the lively Oto-Pekka Jurvainen had struck a post with a fine curling effort. But England were not to be denied and made sure of the victory when Sean Doherty headed the winner with 12 minutes remaining.

'Not at our best'
England coach Richard Bate was delighted with the result but admitted that his side are capable of playing better. "We were not at our best today," he said after the match. "We shot ourselves in the foot in the first minute but we showed good character and had a good spell midway through the first half. We were careless for the second goal, but it was important to get points on the board from our first game. We knew that Finland had four of five players over six feet tall and they are physically very strong, tough and well organised."

'Come a long way'
His opposite number, Timo Liekoski, was philosophical in defeat, but hailed his ever-improving side after the match. "We are disappointed not to gain a point as we felt there was one there to be taken," Liekoski said. "England are a more assured team who have more composure than us. We may not have created a lot of chances but looked capable of nicking a goal. We played with only one striker as it was very important to keep the midfield tight but we dropped so deep that we could not support Ääritalo."