ENGLAND Schoolboys Under-18s are hoping to get the Bootham Crescent crowd excited tonight when they come up against their Scotland counterparts in the Centenary Shield.

In their first fixture of the competition, England put in a convincing defensive display in a 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland at Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road ground.

And with that side their game coming along nicely, International Programme Director David Ebberson says the side will be looking to give the spectators something else to shout about.

Ebberson is, of course, well aware of what the lads pulling on the white jersey to face ‘the Auld Enemy’ will come up against, and he is not expecting an easy game.

He said: “We want to excite the crowd and get a few goals.

“We defended really well last week, so against Scotland we want to keep that up and give the crowd a lift.

“It’s always challenging in these intense rivalries, and playing for England, you always have a target on your back. Teams always seem to raise their game against us.

“We’re expecting Scotland to be a strong and physical side, set up well and hard to break down.”

York City supporters may also be interested to see the names Emmanuel Ogunrinde and Alex Doyle appear in the squad.

Both have previous at Bootham Crescent as members of Salford City’s youth side, with Doyle starting October’s 1-0 FA Youth Cup win and Ogunrinde having netted the winner.

This year’s Centenary Shield is the first set of games this team will have contested together, as each season a new squad is assembled, but they will have a chance to gel further in the coming weeks.

The 18 players named in the squad will be the only players England use during the competition, although the starting line-up is malleable.

As such, Ebberson is expecting some players will get to make their bow on the international stage tonight.

He said: “This group of 18 is the squad we will be playing with for the whole competition, although the manager will be looking to make changes to freshen up the team and give players the opportunity to make their international debut.”

The nature of schoolboys’ football is that it is a different route into football that does not involve a curtailment of schooling.

None of the players are presently attached to Football League clubs, although that may well change once they leave their respective institutions.

Ebberson explained: “All of the schoolboys are in full-time education, whether that be in sixth-form or college.

“A number of them will go on trial with teams afterwards. This is the alternative pathway into football as all of these boys have chosen education at 16.”

Kick off is at 7pm and tickets can be bought on the turnstiles. Adult prices are £7 and concessions £3.

After tonight’s game, England will travel to Cardiff to face Wales on Thursday, March 29 and to Belfast for the Northern Ireland clash on Friday, April 6.