Delight for Dael on home turf

DAEL Fry’s hometown appearance at the Riverside Stadium for England Under21s was “absolutely fantastic” according to the Middlesbrough defender.

The 20-year-old from Berwick Hills was named in Aidy Boothroyd’s starting line-up for the Group Four qualifier against Scotland.

And he put in an assured display at the heart of the England defence as the hosts recorded a 3-1 victory in front of 20,126 supporters.

Fry said: “It’s been absolutely amazing to play in front of my family and friends and the Middlesbrough fans in the Riverside Stadium where I’ve grown up.

“It was absolutely fantastic. I found out on Thursday that I was playing and I was delighted.

“I knew there was going to be a turnout, I knew the fans were going to be excellent and that’s what they were.”

Before the game, Fry said he expected to be both “nervous and excited” if he was selected to play on home turf for his country.

After the match, he admitted the nerves disappeared the moment the referee blew the whistle to get the game underway.

“I was listening to my name being read out before the game and I got a good cheer, so I was delighted with that,” said the talented Teessider.

“The fans here are amazing, unbelievable. The whistle blew and all the nerves just disappeared. The lads delivered a fantastic performance, especially the second half.

“They (Scotland) scored a goal so there’s always room for improvement and we’ll be looking at that and seeing what we could have done better but we scored three goals.

“There’s a lot of potential throughout that team.” Tyne & North