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Friday, 25 May 2007
Football Association Friendly 'B' International Match

England B 3 Albania 1 [2-1]
 

Turf Moor, Brunshaw Bottom, Burnley, Lancashire
Attendance: 22,400;
Kick-off: 8.00pm BST
Live on Sky Sports One (UK) - Commentator: Martin Tyler

England B - Alan Smith (34), Stewart Downing (37, 58).
Albania - Besart Berisha (44);
Match Summary
England B Squad
Albania Squad
B Team Results no yellow or red cards

? kicked-off. ? minutes (? & ?).

 

Match Summary

Officials from Italy

England B

Type

Albania

Referee (red) - Andrea De Marco
34 (21 May 1973), FIFA-listed 2007.

Assistant referees -
Luca Maggiani, 39 (9 April 1968) & Maurizio Liberti.

Fourth official - Chris
topher J. Foy, 44 (20 November 1962), St. Helens, Merseyside, England;

The England team wore yellow ribbons in remembrance of missing 4-year-old toddler Madeleine McCann.

8 Goal Attempts 9
6 Attempts on Target 4
0 Hit Bar/Post 2
8 Corner Kicks Won 1
6 Offside Calls Against 0
14 Fouls Conceded 10
59.3% Possession 40.7%

England B Team

 

Rank:

not applicable Colours: The 2005 home uniform - White collared shirts with large red cross on right shoulder, navy blue shorts with thin white narrowing stripe on right thigh and red hem, white socks with navy blue half-striped tops.
Capt: Michael Owen, first B captaincy Coach:  Steve McClaren, 45, appointed 4 May 2006, took post 1 August 2006, 
1st 'B' match, W 1 - D 0 - L 0 - F 3 - A 1.
England Lineup
1 Carson, Scott P. 21 3 September 1985 G Liverpool FC 2 1ᵍᵃ
2 Neville, Philip J., off 46th min. 30 21 January 1977 RB Everton FC 1 0
3 Shorey, Nicholas R., off 74th min. 26 19 February 1981 LB Reading FC 1 0
4 Barry, Gareth, off 64th min. 26 23 February 1981 M Aston Villa FC 1 0
5 King, Ledley B. 26 12 October 1980 CD Tottenham Hotspur FC 1 0
6 Dawson, Michael R. 23 18 November 1983 CD Tottenham Hotspur FC 2 0
7 Bentley, David M., off 72nd min. 22 27 August 1984 M Blackburn Rovers FC 1 0
8 Jenas, Jermaine A. 24 18 February 1983 M Tottenham Hotspur FC 2 1
9 Smith, Alan, off 64th min. 26 28 October 1980 F Manchester United FC 1 1
10 Owen, Michael J. 26 14 December 1979 F Newcastle United FC 2 0
11 Lennon, Aaron J., off 10th min. 20 16 April 1987 M Tottenham Hotspur FC 2 0
England Substitutes
17
Downing, Stewart, on 10th min. for Lennon 22 22 July 1984 M Middlesbrough FC 2 2
12 Jagielka, Philip N., on 46th min. for Neville 24 17 August 1982 M Sheffield United FC 1 0
16 Dyer, Kieron C., on 64th min. for Smith 29 29 December 1978 M Newcastle United FC 3 0
14 Taylor, Steven V., on 64th min. for Barry 23 23 January 1986 D Newcastle United FC 1 0
18 Defoe, Jermain C., on 72nd min. for Bentley 24 7 October 1982 F Tottenham Hotspur FC 1 0
15 Lescott, Joleon P., on 74th min. for Shorey 24 16 August 1982 D Everton FC 1 0

unused substitutes:

13-Robert Green, 19-David Nugent.
 

4-4-2

Carson -
Neville
(Jagielka), Dawson, King, Shorey (Lescott) -
Bentley
(Defoe), Jenas, Barry (Taylor), Lennon (Downing) -
Smith
(Dyer), Owen

Averages (Starting XI):

Age 24.5 Appearances/Goals 1.5 0.2

 

Albania Team

 

Rank:

not applicable Colours: Made by Umbro - Red shirts with black trim, black shorts, black socks;
Capt: Altin Haxhi Coach: Otto Barić, 74 (19 June 1932 in Austria), appointed June 2006;
Albania Lineup
1 Beqaj, Arjan, off 79th min. 31 25 August 1975 G Anothorsis Famagusta FC 24 0
21 Vangjeli, Kristi 21 5 September 1985 D FC Iraklis, Greece 1 0
3 Rustemaj, Blerim 24 4 February 1983 D Borussia VfL 1900 eV Mönchengladbach, Germany - -
4 Dede, Nevil T. 32 10 January 1975 D KF Tiranë 20 0
18 Bulku, Ervin 26 3 March 1981 D KS Dinamo Tiranë 4 0
20 Mukaj, Devis, off 46th min. 30 21 December 1976 M KS Dinamo Tiranë 35 0
23 Haxhi, Altin, off 79th min. 32 17 January 1975 M PAE Ergotelis, Greece 60 2
8 Bushi, Alban, off 72nd min. 33 20 August 1973 F PAE Apollon Kalamarias, Greece 61 14
13 Skela, Ervin, off 75th min. 20 17 November 1986 F FC Energie Cottbus, Germany 23 5
10 Duro, Klodian, off 66th min. 29 21 December 1977 M KS Dinamo Tiranë 16 1
11 Berisha, Besart 21 29 July 1985 F Hamburger SV eV, Germany 5 1
Albania Substitutes
7 Murati, Edvin S., on 46th min. for Mukaj 31 12 November 1975 M GC Iraklis Thessaloniki 1908, Greece - -
24 Vrapi, Enri, on 64th min. for Duro 25 23 May 1982 M KF Teuta 2 0
15 Sinani, Vioresin, on 72nd min. for Bushi 30 11 April 1977 F KS Dinamo Tiranë - -
19 Hyka, Jahmir, on 75th min. for Skela 19 3 March 1988 M Olympiacos CFP, Greece 2 0
12 Hidi, Isli, on 79th min. for Beqaj 26 15 October 1980 G KS Dinamo Tiranë 1 0
17 Ahmataj, Julian, on 79th min. for Haxhi 27 24 May 1979 M KS Dinamo Tiranë 1 0

unused substitutes:

22-Daniel Xhafa.
 

4-4-1-1

Beqaj (Hidi) -
 Vangjeli, Dede, Rustemaj, Mukaj
(Murati) -
 Berisha, Bulku, Duro
(Vrapi), Haxhi (Ahmataj) -
 Skela
(Hyka) -
Bushi
(Sinani).

Averages (Starting XI):

Age 27.3 Appearances/Goals 24.9 2.6

 

    Match Report

Michael Owen had a low-key return to international football as Stewart Downing guided England B to victory.  Besart Berisha hit the bar for Albania after a fine run before England scored twice in the space of three minutes.  Gareth Barry's touch set up Alan Smith, whose low shot arrowed into the corner and soon afterwards Downing pounced on goalkeeper Arjan Beqaj's mistake.  The impressive Berisha scored with a shot, but Downing made it 3-1 with an exquisite chip just before the hour.

Owen, who was playing for England for the first time since he was injured in last summer's World Cup, played the whole game.  His best opportunity came early on, when he side-footed Aaron Lennon's cross wide from a promising position.  Smith is another long-term England absentee, with the Manchester United forward last playing an international game 19 months ago.  But he gave England the lead with a low shot after he collected Barry's excellent lay-off.

Not long afterwards Albania goalkeeper Beqaj was unable to collect David Bentley's cross and Downing reacted quickly to drill the ball home.  Berisha was Albania's most accomplished performer and the Hamburg forward capped a fine performance with a goal, surging past Ledley King, before beating Scott Carson with a powerful shot.  Downing restored England's two-goal lead when he collected an Owen pass and cleverly dinked the ball over Beqaj.  - BBC Sport

 

Source Notes

BBC Sport
TheFA.com
Official Teamsheet
AlbaniaSoccer.com
TheIndependent.co.uk
Albania-Sport.com
Guardian.co.uk

____________________

CG