Welsh key to England victory; Academy League.
Byline: CHRIS WRIGHTLIVERPOOL'S John Welsh helped England under-19s qualify for the UEFA U19 European Championship against Lithuania on Sunday.
The 18-year-old midfielder was part of the side that won 2-1, with goals from Newcastle's Michael Chopra and Arsenal's Jermaine Pennant, at the City Ground, Nottingham to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory.
England have qualified for the finals in Switzerland in July where Welsh will be a key member of the squad along with U19s defender Jon Otsemobor, who was an unused substitute on Sunday.
Both players were involved in the reserves' 4-2 win against Aston Villa last night. But now that duo and the rest of the U19s' squad will focus on this Saturday's semifinal play-off, back in Nottingham.
The Reds are looking to get past Nottingham Forest and add to their North West FA Premier Academy League title, by reaching the national play-off final against the winners of the other semi-final between Arsenal and Ipswich.
Liverpool trio - defender David Raven, striker Mark Smyth and midfielder David Mannix - have joined up with the England squad for the UEFA U17s Championship, which begins this Saturday in Denmark.
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Title Annotation: | Sport |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Daily Post (Liverpool, England) |
| Date: | Apr 23, 2002 |
| Words: | 187 |
| Previous Article: | Port look to hit back. |
| Next Article: | We're not there yet; Ferguson preaches caution ahead of Bayer test. |