ANOTHER NINETY MINUTES FOR JAMES TOMPKINS
By Tony Fowles Ironworks Gazette
March 28 2005
James Tomkins played for ninety minutes as England won the play off match for fifth place in the Montaigu Tournament by beating the Ivory Coast 2-0. Kenny Swain's squad once again responded to a challenge in a positive fashion.

James Tomkins played for ninety minutes as England won the play off match for fifth place in the Montaigu Tournament by beating the Ivory Coast 2-0. Playing in a match which kicked-off early in the morning was a new experience for all of the players in Kenny Swain's squad but once again they responded to a challenge in a positive fashion. Having dominated the first 40 minutes of the match, England got a little frustrated with not being able to break down the well-drilled Ivory Coast defence and they had to settle for a 0-0 score-line at half-time. However that soon changed after the break as Manchester City striker Daniel Sturridge, who only came on eight minutes earlier, scored his third goal of the tournament on 56 minutes. That goal broke the tension and England started to play with more fluency and they scored a deserved second goal when Birmingham City's Sone Aluko, another substitute, finished well on 69 minutes. England could relax a little with that second goal and in the end they ran out as comfortable winners, keeping a first clean sheet of the tournament. After the match, coach Kenny Swain said: "Well in the first half we got a little frustrated by the fact that they were proving to be a tough nut to crack but then once Daniel got his goal we played very well. "Then Sone got another one ten minutes later and that really settled us down and in the end it was a really good team effort from all the boys." "There were some really good individual efforts and I was especially pleased that we kept a clean sheet." Having lost their opening match to Japan, England have drawn with Portugal and then beaten both Cameroon and the Ivory Coast, with performances getting better each time. "We started well and we have got better with every game," Swain added. "The position is not all that important and we all genuinely think we were one of the best sides here. "The boys have really enjoyed the experience and the whole thing has really whet their appetite for football on the international stage. "You can't beat this tournament for helping players' development. It is a tremendous experience for all the players to understand how tournament football abroad works - experience which will be very useful, especially in the important Under-17 age group next year."

England: Ben Amos - Manchester United, Lee Molyneux - Everton (Jake Thomson - Southampton, 73), James Tomkins - West Ham Utd, Josh Walker (capt. - Middesbrough), Febian Brandy - Manchester United, Jamie Chandler - Sunderland (Josh Wright - Charlton Athletic, 73), Michael Nardiello - Manchester United (Daniel Sturridge - Manchester City, 48), Paul Rodgers - Arsenal, Matthew Richards - Derby County (Sone Aluko - Birmingham City, 48), Lee Sawyer - Chelsea (John Paul Kissock - Everton, 48), Jack Cork - Chelsea

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