PERSISTENCE reaped rich rewards as England's youngsters ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against Thailand at Bootham Crescent last night.

Played before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 1,300 and the cameras of Sky Television, a superior England side struggled to breakthrough a resolute Thai defence despite dominating first-half possession.

However, three goals in 17 second-half minutes finally gave England's Under-16s the victory their football deserved, much to the delight of assistant coach Kenny Swain.

Swain, the former Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest ace, said: "The buzz word at half-time was 'persevere'.

"When we had as much possession as we had in the first-half it is easy to get a little bit despondent.

"But we had faith in them and it was just a matter of persevering with them and they would get their rewards.

"Once one went in I thought we would get two or three goals."

However, Swain insisted the England performance was more important than the result.

"The result was secondary to be fair," he said.

"We were more concerned with a good performance which we managed to achieve.

"Considering it is out first international of the season - the lads have had two and a half months off and have come back together for the first time - they did very well.

"At this age they are notoriously poor when they come back but I thought they played quite well, looked organised and showed the right respect for the opposition."

Dick Bate, the head coach of the England Under-16 squad and ex-York City amateur, is a former technical director and national coach in Malaysia which had given England a valuable insight into the likely standard of their opposition.

"They performed exactly how he thought they would," said Swain.

"They were quick players, technically not bad but just lacking in a bit of game understanding. However, they would cause you problems if you didn't pay them respect."

Thailand now have just 48 hours to recover before they face the Brazilian Under-16s at Bootham Crescent on Thursday night, kick-off 7.15pm.

But last night's result sets up Sunday's final game in the triangular tournament when England will meet their counterparts from South America at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

Swain said that was a match the England youngsters were eagerly awaiting.

"We are all sharing the same hotel and when you see the Brazilians sitting next to the Thai there is a big difference in size.

"They will be big strong side but no doubt they will also show the silky skills which we have all been used to over the years.

"Certainly, the lads are looking forward too it immensely.

"They have faced some great opposition in the last year to 15 months.

"We have played the best in Europe, France and Italy, and the best in South America, Argentina, and we have remained unbeaten with Brazil still to come."

PICTURE: RISING STAR: Ciaran Donnelly, who scored England's second goal plays a pass beyond Thailand defenders Tada Keelalay (No 4) and Pariwet Sarakit (No 6) at York City's Bootham Crescent last night