An extended exclusive interview with Aaron Downes on his return from international duty with the young Socceroos. Read the highlights right here! 

(This exclusive interview was recorded last week ahead of the local derby at Doncaster Rovers)

Well Aaron a successful tour with Australia's U-20's

It was a good tour I got back last Sunday and it all went to plan and Australia qualified for the World Youth Cup after we won the final 3-0.

We were following the reports and we did know that you scored against Tonga in the 19-0 win?

We beat Tonga 19-0 and I scored early on in the game and the team played very well and got 19. We cruised through the group stages really we won one game 12-1 and the other 9-2.

You had one game abandoned because the of the weather is that right?

That was the game against Tonga the game was scheduled for the Wednesday and we played eighteen minutes and it rained and the pitch looked like a river. So we had to go back the next day a little hiccup but we won anyway.

The last game the final was against the Solomon Island that game was also abandoned this time because of crowd problems

It was abandoned after crowd violence after seventy odd minutes there was bottles and rocks being thrown onto the pitch. So they called the security out and abandoned the game for our safety we were winning 3-0 so it was fair that they let the result stand and we qualified.

So what was upsetting them?

They were the home team and there were twenty thousand home supporters and they were losing and I think they were trying to put us off or get the game called off.

You had a week training in Brisbane prior to the tournament what was that like?

We had ten days in Brisbane to get us together. There were a couple of new lads so it was good to get together and get to know everyone. We trained twice a day and played a couple of friendly games.

What was it like in the Solomon Islands I assume it was warm?

It was very humid and virtually every day at 4 o'clock it rained very heavily hence the game we had being abandoned. During the day it was very hot though 30 degrees and very humid

What was the highlight of the tournament?

The final obviously with twenty thousand people even though it was abandoned and there were a few rocks thrown onto the pitch no one thankfully got hit or hurt and now we are going to the World Youth Championships in Holland in June

Australia a representing Oceania group did you expect New Zealand to be your major threat?

Usually it's Australia and New Zealand that go through but New Zealand didn't make it through the qualifying and Fiji and the Solomon Islands qualified. So it was surprising that New Zealand didn't qualify because we thought we would play them in the final.

Did you manage to get home to see your family at all?

I managed to get three days at home which was good but I am committed to my Club. So mixed feelings really it's good to be back though it would have been nice to have stayed longer at home.

What do you think you have learnt from the trip?

Not to under estimate teams. We went out there thinking we would win every game easily. Which we did in the group stage but I think we were lucky in the end to beat Fiji they put in a lot of effort and really battled and we just managed to sneak it 3-2 in the end.

So you back into an English winter

That's the worst part really but I have got to get used to and adjust. It was a good tour but a little hot for me but it is good to be back playing English football which I love.

Did you follow Chesterfield fortunes whilst you were away?

I tried to get the results from the papers and I checked everything out on the computer when I got home so I kept in touch with things.

Did you feel better for the experience?

Definitely it was good representing my country but it was disappointing to have to go after playing a few first team games.I wanted to stay in the team but going away knocked that back a bit. But I now my goals to get back into the team on a regular basis.

Aaron Downes was talking to Geoff Mitchell

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