After helping to prevent England from lifting the Centenary Shield last week, Aberdeen midfielder Jamie Henry believes Scotland’s under-18 schoolboys footballers can lay their hands on the prize.
Henry played his part as Scotland maintained their unbeaten run with a 1-1 draw with England at Ewood Park, Blackburn, to prevent the Three Lions from being crowned champions.
Aberdeen midfielder Henry knows victory against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin this month would see Scotland share the prize with the Auld Enemy.
Scotland have already drawn with Northern Ireland and beaten Wales 5-1 – a stark contrast to last year when they lost all four matches and finished bottom of the pile.
However, this time they have found form and are unbeaten, with Henry relishing the prospect of helping to claim a piece of silverware for his country.
“It is a brilliant experience and a great tournament to play in – just the build-up to the games and the occasions,” said Henry.
“It was a hard game at Ewood Park – a physical game – but it was a really good result. Not many Scotland teams go to England and get a result. It was good to get a point.
“It would be brilliant to win the shield. Obviously, stopping England winning it on Friday night was a great achievement. I think we deserve to share it.
“It is always brilliant playing at international level, even if it is just under-18. It is great to represent your country.
“Confidence is pretty high after getting a draw. I think if we lost that game we would have been going to Ireland up for the match but there wouldn’t have been much motivation there.”
Among those in the unbeaten squad are Milltimber’s Leonard Wilson and Harlaw Academy’s Chris Liversedge, who also believes Scotland can go to Ireland and get the job done.
“We go to Ireland full of confidence and we haven’t been beaten so far, so we know that we are a really good side and think we can get the business done over there,” said Liversedge.
“We’ve got something to play for now which is what we would have wanted at the start of the tournament.
“There is a great belief among the boys and we have a great character in the squad, so we are full of confidence.
“It was a great performance from us against England and to win the shield would be one of the greatest things in my career so far.”
TSB, proud partner of the Scottish Schools’ FA, is delighted to support the Scotland Under-18 schoolboys squad for the 2014 Centenary Shield campaign. For all the latest squad news, visit scottishfa.co.uk/ssfa