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Kyle revels in Portuguese experience
by
Ky Capel
Buoyed by his involvement with the Wales semi-professional squad,
Dorchester defender Kyle Critchell is raring to go ahead of tomorrow’s
trip to Hampton & Richmond.
The 23-year-old played the full 90 minutes as the Dragons suffered
a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Portugal Under-23s in last Wednesday’s
International Challenge Trophy clash.
Although never one to accept defeat, Critchell was content with
the scoreline as the home nation’s line-up boasted two full
internationals as well as players from the likes of Porto, Sporting
Lisbon and Benfica.
Reflecting on the class of opposition, Critchell, who was born
in Dorset but has a Welsh mother, said: “It was a strong
line-up with some Portuguese internationals in it but it was a
good experience even though we did lose.
“They could’ve scored at any time but it was a thoroughly
enjoyable experience for me.
“I played the whole 90 minutes. I started at centre-back,
then went to left-back in the second half and then to central midfield
for the last 25 minutes.
“I was in the squad a couple of years ago but the personnel
has changed dramatically. The lads were good though and the vast
majority of them were from the Welsh Premier League.
“It’s testimony to the lads that we did score two
goals against a side that had Premier League-quality players, including
one or two who, supposedly, are in with a shout of going to the
World Cup in South Africa.
“I’m just happy I got called up and got the chance
to play. There’s another game against Poland in October I
think so hopefully I’ll be involved then.”
First and foremost, the former Southampton man is keen to help
the Magpies recover from the hangover of last Tuesday’s frustrating
defeat at St Albans.
He added: “I rang Ashley Vickers after my game on Wednesday
and had a chat about the St Albans match the night before. He said
the lads thoroughly deserved to get something out of the game,
despite having no where near a fully fit squad.
“We’re all looking forward to tomorrow’s game
where hopefully we’ll get three points.”
Critchell, who returned to training on Saturday, hopes the lack
of a competitive match at the weekend will see the Magpies close
to full strength for tomorrow’s encounter with the Beavers.
He said: “For myself and the some of the lads that were
ill in the week it was vital that we didn’t have a game on
Saturday. Having said that I can’t wait to get back out there
again.”
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