UEFA.com
March 25 2004

England start steadily

Hosts England made a solid start to the Group 2 mini-tournament as
they began their quest to qualify for the UEFA European Under-17
Championship finals for a third successive time.

Enthusiastic crowd
John Peacock’s side got the better of a spirted Armenia at
Hillsborough, Sheffield in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 7,000.
England began the stronger, with Shane Paul hitting the bar early on
after excellent play from Gary Roberts. However Armenia, particularly
through the ever dangerous Edgar Manucharyan, also threatened
sporadically.

Spot-kick opener
England took the lead in the 18th minute when Mark Noble was fouled
in the penalty area and duly beat Armenia goalkeeper Shahen Manvelyan
with the spot-kick. A second goal arrived in the 69th minute when
Paul combined with substitute Fraizer Campbell and blasted the ball
into the net.

Next games
In their next game, England will face fellow day-one winners Iceland
in Doncaster while the Armenians will take on the Norwegians in
Mansfield. Only the top side in the group will reach the eight-team
final tournament in France this May.