Goddard and Asare play their part in England C's comfortable win over Nepal

Slough Town’s Johnny Goddard started for England C against Nepal on Monday. Photo credit:

Liam Puttock (LJP Photos/@LJPphotos)

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Slough Town's Johnny Goddard and Maidenhead United's Zico Asare earned their first international caps on Bank Holiday Monday as England C claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Nepal at Aldershot.

Both players were called up for Paul Fairclough's Non League Lions' squad after impressive seasons for their clubs, and Goddard was handed a start at the EBB Stadium.

Having scored 19 goals in all competitions for the Rebels this season, Goddard was thrown straight into the Lions' den so to speak, and he played his part in a dominant opening spell which saw England score twice through Nicke Kabamba and Callum Stead.

Goddard was replaced just before the hour mark by Aldershot Town's Tyler Frost, and at the same time, Asare was given his first taste of international football as a substitute for Stead.

Despite the weather, a large crowd turned out to see the Non League Lions in action, and they took a firm grip on the clash inside the opening 15 minutes.

A smart header from the former Burnham player Kabamba gave England the lead in the seventh minute. Goddard played his part in the move down the left-hand side with Ollie Harfield crossing for Kabamba to head home.

There was no let up for Nepal as England doubled their lead in the 13th minute. A corner wasn't dealt with by the visitors and Stead fired home to make it 2-0.

England continued to press forward, with Jack Payne and Goddard both having attempts which required strong saves from the Blue Tigers' goalkeeper Limbu.

Nepal came close to halving the deficit in the second half when Karki created an opportunity for Bista, but he could only fire straight at substitute goalkeeper Elliott Justham. Dangi later dug out a great cross for Karki, but the striker's header clipped the crossbar.

The fixture was played during a visit from the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) to help raise the profile of football to the Nepalese community in England and increase participation from the wider South Asian communities.

They will now turn their attention to upcoming World Cup qualifiers against the U.A.E and Yemen.

International Magpies | At the end of a tremendous season Zico Asare picked up a well deserved @England C cap against Nepal at Aldershot yesterday afternoon ⚫⚪

LJP Photos pic.twitter.com/FcwDDhTY2l

— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) May 7, 2024

FA chair, Debbie Hewitt was among the 5,500 fans in attendance for the clash.

She said: "Football has the incredible power of bringing communities together and today’s fixture is a perfect example of this," said the FA Chair.

"There has been a great deal of excitement and interest from the local Nepalese community in the lead up to today’s match, the first time that a fixture has taken place between our two countries at any level.

"I’d like to give a special thanks to Aldershot Town for hosting today’s match, as well as Hampshire FA and Army FA for their hospitality in welcoming Nepal FA as part of this friendship visit, promoting football for all. It has been fantastic to see the engagement with the large Nepalese community that live in the area, as well as the Gurkha Regiments based at the Aldershot Garrison."

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England: 1 Nathan Ashmore (GK) (Boreham Wood), 2 Ben Chapman (Ebbsfleet United), 3 Ollie Harfield (Aldershot Town), 4 Danny Collinge (Barnet), 5 Dan Ellison (Chippenham Town), 6 Ollie Kensdale (Southend United), 7 Jack Payne (Boreham Wood), 8 Toby Edser (Ebbsfleet United), 9 Nicke Kabamba (Barnet), 10 Callum Stead (Barnet) 11 Johnny Goddard (Slough Town)

Substitutes: 13 Elliot Justham (Dagenham & Redbridge) for Ashmore 45’, 16 Tyler Frost (Aldershot Town) for Goddard 58’, 15 Scott (Aldershot Town) for Chapman 58’, 12 Jack Barnham (Aldershot Town) for Ellison 58’, 14 Zico Asare (Maidenhead United) for Stead 58’

Head coach: Paul Fairclough

Goals: Kabamba 7’, Stead 13’