England trio targeting U19 glory

By Andrew Haslam in Belfast

England trio Ryan Jarvis, James Morrison and Tony McMahon are hoping that, having squeezed into the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship by the narrowest of margins, Martin Hunter's side can now go on to lift the trophy in Belfast on Friday night.

Dramatic finale
Needing victory against Norway on Saturday to reach the last four from Group B, England looked to be heading out of the competition when Petter Hanssen gave Norway a 2-1 lead with only eleven minutes left. However, substitute Dexter Blackstock scrambled Hunter's team level 60 seconds later, before another replacement, central defender David Wheater, headed what proved to be the winner seven minutes from time.

Sharpness returning
Norwich City FC forward Jarvis feels that, having started the competition with 1-1 draws against France and Armenia, his side are getting sharper as the tournament wears on. "We came out here in the first week of pre-season training, so everyone's a bit short of fitness, but it's good both in terms of the tournament and for getting us sharp for the season ahead," he told uefa.com. "Playing competitive matches makes you fitter, and we're getting better each game. The first game, we were struggling to find our legs and looked a bit tired, but hopefully we'll get better and better now.

New experience
"These tournaments are totally different from English football," Jarvis went on. "Some teams, like Armernia, sit back and play a slow tempo, while France were really quick to press us on the ball and close us down, and played at a really quick tempo. In England, it's really quick and the work ethic is really high and everything's busy. You have to adapt to different teams, because we play to their weaknesses and our strengths, so sometimes you have to change your game plan. It's all a learning curve at this age."

'Lots of potential'
Middlesbrough FC defender McMahon, who has been on the bench for the last two matches, has no doubt how good this England side can become, saying: "There's a lot of potential in this team, we've got a lot of good individuals. Myself and James Morrison have played in the UEFA Cup with Middlesbrough, and we've got a lot of players who've already done well for their clubs. We've got lots of experience in our team, hopefully that'll come through and we can go on to win it."

U17 heartbreak
Jarvis, McMahon and Morrison were all part of the squad that lost on penalties to Portugal in the European U17 Championship semi-finals two years ago, before going on to suffer a 1-0 defeat by Austria in the third-place play-off. Indeed, eight members of Hunter's party this time round were involved in the U17 event, and Morrison is hoping the memory of that disappointment can drive the side to glory.

Invaluable experience
"There's a few of us here who were involved in 2003," the right-sided midfield player, McMahon's club-mate at Middlesbrough, acknowledged. "We got to the semi-finals, we know what it takes to get there and what it takes to win in the last four, so hopefully we can take that experience on to the final and win it.

Keen to improve
"Hopefully, that disappointment will be an inspiration," Morrison went on. "We always want to get better and hopefully we can improve on what we've done so far. We want to keep going and going and hopefully the experience we gained in the last tournament will stand us in good stead and help us go all the way to the final."