Turkey 2-0 Qantas Joeys
Match report to Follow soon.
Lincolnshire, England
The Qantas Joeys went down 0-2 to Turkey England in their last match of the FA Men's U17 International Tournament played at Blundell Park in Grimsby, England.
In very wet and windy conditions, both teams found it difficult to settle into their normal style of play from the start.
Turkey had the first significant attempt of the match in the 13th minute, but Qantas Joeys goalkeeper Paul Izzo produced a great save to deny the attempt.
The Qantas Joeys had their first shot on goal in the 22nd minute when Yianna Perkatis put a great through ball to Anthony Proia in the box whose shot from a narrow angle went just wide of the far post.
Turkey increased their pressure in the last ten minutes of the match and only a couple of great saves by Izzo ensured the score was nil all at half time.
Turkey took the lead midway through the second half in a dubious manner when a parried ball off Izzo's hands hit the crossbar and fell back onto the goal line where it was cleared, the assistant referee adjudging that the ball went over the line and a goal was awarded to Turkey.
Turkey doubled their lead in the 63rd minute following a mistake by Hayden Morton in the box, Turkish forward Recep Niyaz pounced on the ball and neatly slotted past Paul Izzo.
Turkey had a great chance to extend their lead shortly after when Connor Champan committed a foul in the box after a Turkish corner kick. Izzo produced a fantastic save of the penalty to deny the Turks.
The Qantas Joeys had an opportunity to peg a goal back in the final minutes of the match after Kwabana Boahene was fouled on the edge of the Turkish penalty box. Jesse Makarounas- free-kick unfortunately went over the crossbar by an extremely small margin.
Qantas Joeys Head Coach Jan Versleijen was again disappointed by the result but philosophical about the value of the experience gained by his players from the tournament.
“It was another great game for the players and another learning experience. We showed that we could build up play and compete with a team such as Turkey,” said Versleijen
“The first half we had some very good patches of play and created some decent scoring opportunities. The second half we had a lapse in concentration and we conceded goals from these errors.
“In particular our goalkeeper Paul Izzo was outstanding today and showed that he has plenty of potential.
“The players will take the lessons of this tour into the AFC U-16 Championships in Uzbekistan in October,” concluded Versleijen.
The Qantas Joeys will now focus their attention towards the AFC U-16 Championship 2010 which will be played in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 24 October - 7 November 2010.
Qantas Joeys 0 Turkey 2 (Beykan Simsek 57-, Recep Niyaz 64-)
Note: Matches consist of two periods of 40 minutes as per UEFA rules for this age group
Blundell Park, Grimsby, England
Qantas Joeys line-up: Paul Izzo (G/K), Jake Monaco, Connor Chapman, Hayden Morton (Giancarlo Gallifuoco 76-), Corey Brown (Sam Chapple 71-), Yianna Perkatis, Hernan Espindola (Daniel Chaabani 54-), Kwabena Boahene (Milos Degenek 54-), Jesse Makarounas, Jacob Melling, Anthony Proia (Dylan Tombides 54-).
Substitutes not used: Lachlan Tibbles (gk), Brodie Patterson, Milos Degenek