ACCRINGTON Stanley duo Peter Cavanagh and Jon Kennedy shone for England last night.

Reds captain Cavanagh picked up his second cap for the England National Game XI as he started against Italy Under 23s at Shrewsbury's Gay Meadow.

And goalkeeper Kennedy earned his first cap as he replaced Exeter City's James Bittner in the 66th minute.

But by then the England side were already 3-1 down against a strong, attacking Italy outfit.

Kennedy was unlucky to concede a fourth and final goal after making an initial save but was beaten as Fernando Sforzini reacted quickly to the rebound and slotted the ball in from a tight angle to complete the scoring.

Meanwhile, new boy Darran Kempson has revealed he is looking forward to working with manager John Coleman and the Stanley players in his one-month work experience spell at the Interlink Express Stadium.

The 18-year-old defender was brought to the club from Preston North End last week to boost a rearguard depleted by suspensions - with fullback Cavanagh and centre half Steve Halford both serving five-match suspension after picking up three red cards each this season.

Kempson made his bow for the Reds at home to Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday.

Unfortunately the game ended on a sour note for Kempson and the team as they leaked two injury time goals and crashed to a 3-2 defeat.

Nevertheless, he is looking forward to helping Stanley for the next three weeks and, at the same time, impress enough to earn a contract at Deepdale.

"I'll find out in March whether I'll get a contract at Preston so I suppose they want to see whether I can hack first team football at a lower level," he said.

"I didn't think I had the best of games on Saturday to be honest but it was difficult with the wind.

"I was quite surprised by the pace of the game too. I didn't think it would be easy but I thought it would be easier than it was. And it was definitely physical."

Kempson, who can cause problems for opposition defenders with his long throw-ins, could also be seeking to make an impact up front.

The 18-year-old admitted he liked to get forward and has already scored four goals for Preston's youth team and once for the reserves so far this campaign.

But his Stanley debut against the Daggers was marred by two late sucker punches, which led to Stanley losing at home for only the third time in the Conference this season.

"I thought we'd won it on Saturday," Kempson said. "No one likes to lose goals at the end, especially in injury time. You don't want to be losing games like that. It's sickening."