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Lucas Pickett

EVERY schoolboy's dream is to play at Wembley for England - and for Chineham teenager Lucas Pickett that dream came true last Saturday.

The Queen Mary's College student turned out for the England under-18 schoolboys' clash against Scotland on the hallowed turf in front of a crowd of 20,000.

England won the game 2-0 with Pickett, a central mid-fielder, setting up the second goal after coming on for the final 45 minutes.

Talking about his memorable Wembley experience, the 18-year-old said: "It was just unbelievable to play for England at Wembley.

"It would have been nice to score, but setting up a goal was the next best thing. The whole day was just magic and it made it special having so many of my family and friends there."

The game at Wembley was for the inaugural Bobby Moore Trophy and the last match in the Centenary Shield competition involving England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The overall winners were an unbeaten Republic of Ireland side who inflicted England's only defeat in the round-robin league by a single goal, at Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

Pickett said: "It was disappointing not to win, but we just did not perform at the Stadium of Light."

The former Chineham Tigers and current Aldershot Reserves footballer played a part in all four games and also scored the winner in England's 2-1 victory over Northern Ireland at the Ulster Arena, Cookstown, earlier in the campaign.

Talking about his goal, the midfielder said: "It was from a free-kick, just outside the corner of the area. I crossed the ball in and it hit the crossbar and went in. It was just great to score and get the winner, but it still did not beat playing at Wembley."

Before the latest contest, Pickett set up both goals in a friendly win against Australia and attended a training camp at Villarreal, in Spain.

Pickett said: "I did not think for one minute when I went to the first trials that it would lead to playing for England at Wembley."

The QMC student is currently studying for his A-levels and has applied to go to university in the autumn, but admits he would like to pursue a career as a footballer.

"I would love to play football, but we will have to wait and see what happens," he said.

10:13am Thursday 1st May 2008

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