Tuesday night sees Paul Fairclough’s England ‘C’ team take on Wales ‘C’ in their annual friendly. The side is designed to showcase the best talent in non-league with an emphasis, but no longer a requirement, on young players.
This season’s fixture is to be held at Llanelli Town’s Stebonheath Park. Manager Paul Fairclough will be hoping for back-to back wins with a fresh squad.
Ahead of the game, here is a look at where the starting eleven from last year’s match, where England triumphed 1-0, are now.
Goalkeeper – Sam Howes
Wealdstone goalkeeper Sam Howes was in between the sticks for Paul Fairclough’s side last year and was able to keep a clean sheet in his only appearance for the England ‘C’ team.
The former West Ham man played in every league game for the Stones last year and kept 10 clean sheets. This earned him a move to League One side Leyton Orient where he has largely been the second-choice goalkeeper, making six appearances and conceding 13 goals.
Right-Back – Gus Scott-Morriss
The only player from last year’s starting 11 to be selected again by Fairclough this year, Scott-Morriss has endeared himself to the Southend United faithful over the last two seasons.
Since joining from Hemel Hempstead Town, the right-back has made 70 league appearances for the Shrimpers, scoring 11 goals in the process and exciting fans with his swashbuckling style of play.
He has shown great loyalty by sticking with Southend through tough times, but he will undoubtedly be the subject of interest from EFL clubs this summer.
Centre Back – Kenton Richardson
Like Scott-Morriss, Kenton Richardson remains at the same club he was at last season, Gateshead.
This season, however, has seen Richardson become a staple of an exciting Gateshead side who are looking to push for the playoffs. The 24-year-old has already made 33 appearances for the Heed this season, six more than he managed in the entirety of last year, and has scored two goals.
Centre Back – Tyler Cordner
Cordner captained the England ‘C’ side last year and put in a good performance. Last year was a real break-out year for the young defender as he made 45 appearances for Aldershot and scored eight goals.
Many thought he was destined for the EFL, but he chose to remain in the National League and become a part of what looked like a very ambitious project at York City. However, Cordner’s time at the club has not been smooth. He has only made 22 appearances as the side battle against relegation to the sixth tier.
Left-Back – Vincent Harper
Eastleigh’s attacking wing-back Vincent Harper was dropped into a more orthodox left-back role by Paul Fairclough, but he was still able to exhibit his attacking intent throughout the match.
After two good years with the Spitfires, Harper earned himself a move to Exeter City in League One. Despite not getting minutes earlier in the season due to the good form of Demetri Mitchell at left wing-back, he has begun to force his way into the side after Mitchell’s injury and has made 27 appearances for the Grecians.
Central Midfield – Ryan De Havilland
Barnet’s Ryan De Havilland was the goalscorer for last year and he capped off a wonderful season with a move to Barnet’s informal allies Peterborough United.
After making 42 appearances and scoring seven goals in his first full season in men’s football, De Havilland has taken a little while to bed in at Peterborough, largely featuring off the bench or in cup competitions. However, he has still managed to score two goals for Darren Ferguson’s side and he started their most recent league game against Portsmouth.
Central Midfield – Josh Lundstram
Lundstram was one of a select few outfield players who featured in every game of the 2022/23 National League season as he excelled for Altrincham after dropping down two divisions.
Like Cordner, there must have been EFL interest surrounding Lundstram, but the 25-year-old decided to join another ambitious project in the National League at Oldham Athletic.
Unfortunately, a knee injury in preseason has made it harder for the midfielder to show the same consistency that he did last season, but he has still made 22 league appearances for the Latics.
Central Midfield – Reagan Booty
On the face of it, Booty’s inclusion in the England ‘C’ team might have been slightly surprising given that he was playing for a struggling Maidstone United team.
But, this does not tell the full story as Booty was excellent last season, scoring seven goals in 42 games for Maidstone and putting in an impressive performance in the game against Wales.
This earned him a move to Gateshead, where he has been similarly impressive. The former Huddersfield man has made 32 appearances for the Heed so far this season.
Right Wing – Joe Sbarra
Solihull Moors’ attacking midfielder Joe Sbarra started on the right wing against Wales ‘C’ last season, but injuries have meant that he has been unable to push into the EFL.
Sbarra had an excellent 2021/22 season as he netted 18 times in 44 games for the Moors, but injuries and heart problems have meant that his game time has considerably diminished over the past two seasons.
This year, he has made just 15 league appearances and scored one goal for Andy Whing’s side. It is a shame as the 25-year-old clearly had the quality to play in the EFL.
Left Wing – Joe Nuttall
Although he would have preferred to play as a lone target man against Wales ‘C’, Nuttall was deployed on the left wing by Paul Fairclough.
The former Manchester City youth player has had an interesting career path over the last couple of seasons. He started the 2022/23 season in good form at Scunthorpe United as fans signposted him as the man who could almost single-handedly fire him to safety.
This led to Oldham Athletic poaching Nuttall from their Northern rivals. His form dipped slightly at the Latics, but his goal returns were still reasonable.
This season, Nuttall struggled for both goals and regular minutes at Oldham. He was seemingly able to fall on his feet by getting a deadline-day loan move to League One Cheltenham Town, but he has hardly been used by Darrell Clarke.
Striker – Emile Acquah
Alan Devonshire seems to have a knack for producing good strikers at Maidenhead United and Emile Acquah is a prime example of that.
He led the line well for England ‘C’ and had a strong season with Maidenhead, scoring 13 times in 45 games.
This led to League Two Barrow making a move for the physical front-man and he has scored six times in 35 league appearances for them so far.
Paul Fairclough will be hoping that his side can put in a similarly solid performance tonight and make it two wins in two games after the 4-0 thrashing the team suffered two years ago.
