A great first half performance from the England team, very solid in defence and very objective in attack scoring 3 goals (one being disallowed) and creating 3 or 4 more good opportunities to score.
In the team talk at half time the players were advised that they would become tired compared to Andorra, who were very fit. The players worked very hard with a lot of passion in the game and defended well against the pressure from Andorra and we did well to score another goal.
Andorra pressured hard and their fitness showed as they scored their two goals. We deserved to win with a solid performance for most of the game.

This was our second game of the day after playing Holland in the morning.
Our team was tired, meaning we started the game with less concentration and affected our defending which cost us goals.
After the half time team talk we came out focused on the game and by readjusting positions on the rink both in the defence system and in attack, we created the goal. This put the result as 1-5 and we had 3 or 4 more clear opportunities to score a goal, which panicked Germany and we played the first 10 minutes of the second half without conceding a goal.
However for the last 5 minutes we became tired again, which resulted in a lack of concentration and we conceded 3 goals, which we didn't deserve. Overall we were better tactically but we lack the fitness levels needed for these competitions as well as the best German player, who became the top scorer in the competition, made a difference in the game.

A solid performance from our team, concentrating on man to man restricted and creating good counter attack moves, as well as the carousel move in attack, which also worked well.
Our goals came as the consequence of us dominating the game. Our team was well organised tactically and showed superiority and confidence all through the game.

This game was as hard as we expected. The Portuguese players individual ability and strength beat us because our players were a lot slower and did not have the rection capacity to compete with the Portuguese team.
The result reflected what happened in the game, although we had a very good first 8 minutes of the second half, during which we only conceded one goal. Portugal pressured full rink for most of the game, which proved difficult for us to create set attack moves.

After a very nervous first game the England team showed a lot of character and resolve in their second game of the Championship against a strong Swiss team. The team improved on man to man restricted in a more physical style creating a lot of problems for Switzerland, which we could turn into good counter attacking opportunities.

We were very pleased in scoring 2 goals from set moves although the first goal was from a well taken penalty.
Controlling the game 2-1, the German referee then called a dodgy penalty from which they then scored to equalise 2-2.
In the last 2 minutes England had 3 great opportunities to score including one which hit the post.

This result is another great day for English roller hockey considering Switzerland only lost 4-1 to Portugal and showed themselves to be a very competitive team.

Today against Portugal will be the last game of first stage and we believe the team is building up confidently for the last 2 days which is the most important part of the championship for us.

Having 7 players participating for the first time in the European Championship the team started very nervously,
which gave France the opportunity of a good start with 2 goals in the first 5 minutes.

We called a time out to calm nerves down and instruct the players on how to improve the team play.

The first game is always difficult for us, but we found it hard to keep up with France's reaction capacity
and we definitely we need to improve the players reaction for our next game,
on and off the ball to ensure we can be more competitive.

In the first half, the team never got into the game but we improved in the second half creating the first 2 scoring opportunities.

We played everybody as part of the coaching objectives to ensure we give confidence enough to approach our next games.

The group stage is to prepare the team for the big games Friday and Saturday
when we will play Germany, Holland and Andorra for 6th to 9th places.

Schoolboys 2008
On Thursday 21st August the team departed from Stansted to Porto and return to England on Tuesday 26th August. During our trip to Portugal we had 6 training sessions and 4 games, of which 2 were against Portugal Schoolboys National Team. As with all the trips abroad the objective was to build the team on and off the rink, which we achieved as the team improved everyday during the 4 days preparation.

I am pleased that English Roller Hockey is becoming a more popular sport and we have more and more skilled players coming through. The decision to select players is not an easy one, as all players work hard at achieving the level required to play for England, but the Coaches and I have to make the selection for what we believe is the best for England.

Arthur and I are very pleased with the improvement of the team during our stay in Feira and we look forward to achieving our best in Italy.
I would like to announce that the Final Squad for European Schoolboys Championship in Bassano-Italy from 8th to 13th September 2008 are:

• 1- Kristoff White (Herne Bay)
• 2- Daniel Butcher (Herne Bay) Vice-Captain
• 3- Alex Lasala (Quevert-France)
• 4- Nic Johnson (Grimsby) Captain
• 5- Nick Flint (Peterborough)
• 6- Richard Claxton (Peterborough)
• 7- Liam Conroy (Bury)
• 8- Han Wei Lim (Peterborough)
• 9- Peter Marshall (Farnham)
• 10- Sam Cayley (Peterborough)


• Manager: Keith Allen
• Head Coach: Carlos Amaral
• Assistant Coach: Arthur Corr