PRESTON College's footballers have been busy restoring England's footballing reputation in America this week with a string of resounding results in a unique competition.

Two teams of lads have flown out to Arizona to take part in the 20th President's Day tournament against some of the top teams in America.

Real Preston and Athletico Preston have been going great guns in the competition - winning all of their group games to date. Each side has five games to play and if both finish on top, they will go on to play in the knock-out stages.

And with scouts from some of America's top universities watching the tournament, college tutors are confident several players could be making a return trip to the states to further their education in September.

Here, Citizen sports reporter David Higgerson and Preston College's Allistair Short bring a round-up of the games played to date:

Athletico Preston 2 AZ Cisco 1

Chris Ward scored a penalty four minutes from time to decide a game of football that the Arizona Desert will remember for a long time. The game was marred by poor refereeing, but illuminated by sublime skill and commitment for a crowd of close to 500 including ex-England front man Paul Mariner.

AZ Cisco were the US National Champions at U-19 level in 1998, but were simply no match for Athletico, yet it was the Yanks who took the lead against the run of play on 61 minutes.

After two vital saves from Athletico's keeper Billy Englishby, Chris Ward got his head to a misdirected shot to put Athletico back in the game before the late penalty wrapped the game up.

A Preston 1 Cal Blackhawks 0

Athletico started brightly, but it was the only the arrival of substitute Peter Sallis on 30 minutes which ensured victory for the Prestonians when he scored from the far post into the roof of the net with his first touch.

The heat and physical strain began to take their toll on Athletico in the second half by they managed to keep the Blackhawks pinned in their own half for the remainder of the game.

Real Preston 4 Dixie Vipers 3

This was a real Duel in the Desert for as they grafted for a hard-won victory. Real quickly asserted their authority taking a two goal lead inside the first 15 minutes through the excellent Paul Boardman on eight minutes and Zubair Patel seven minutes later.

A "training ground" corner routine saw Real take a 3-0 lead on the half-hour with Simon Brown slotting home at the far post.

Real's second-half chances were dealt a blow when striker Patel limped off with ankle injuries. However, the goal of the match followed minutes later when left-back Nigel Taylor struck a "Gazza like" free-kick into the top right corner of the Dixie net from fully 35 yards.

Dixie pulled three goals back as Real began to struggle, forcing them to dig deep and hold on for the victory.

Read about the American tour only in the Citizen next week.

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