Tuesday was a proud moment in the history of Bristol City football club. The Reds didn't have a game themselves, but star striker Leroy Lita was involved in a match at Derby's Pride Park stadium - turning out for England under 21s no less!
The Congo born goal machine had been called up into the squad after Everton's Marcus Bent had to withdraw from the squad with an injury he picked up in a match on Sunday at Southampton. The previous day, Lita had put in a match saving performance at Hull City's KC Stadium by scoring the Reds late equaliser.
Hull's manager just so happens to be Peter Taylor - also manager of England's under-21 side. Clearly Lita had impressed Taylor and City's top scorer was drafted in for Tuesday's match against Holland.
Lita waited 65 minutes before he was brought on as a second half substitute, with England 2-0 down from the first half.
Lita wasted little time in trying to rally his England team mates and get something out of the game. Having had an early header just miss to the side of the goal, Lita made no mistake in the 89th minute to power a header past the Dutch 'keeper to make the score 2-1. Although the score remained and England were defeated it was nothing short of a dream start for Lita, who is only in his first full season of senior football. Lita told the clubs official club web site, 'This is something I have always dreamed of. I may seem calm on the outside but I can't believe what has happened.'
The goal was certainly just rewards in the eyes of most City fans who have seen Lita improve dramatically this season. The worry now is, how long will City be able to keep such a talented player for? The last City player to score for England under 21s while at the club was Andrew Cole who soon moved to Newcastle United for £1.3 million in the mid-1990s.
It'll be back down to earth for Lita tonight though. Instead of playing for England against Holland in front of 33,000 people, he'll be playing for Bristol City against Paul Merson's Walsall in front of nearer 10,000. City have already beaten Walsall this season 2-1 up at the Bescott and will be looking to consolidate after an encouraging away point at promotion hopefuls Hull City.
Walsall have a poor away record but unfortunately this can be leveled out by looking at City's woeful home form that has seen them fail to win at Ashton Gate since 28th December 2004. Anything less than three points and City will almost certainly be kissing goodbye to promotion.
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