Lions hit seven
Friday, 24 October, 2008
The Young Lions hit the goal trail on Friday evening, netting seven times against Estonia in Tenerife.
England 7-0 Estonia
UEFA European U17 Championship
First Qualifying Round
6pm, Friday 24 October 2008
Campo los Cuartos, Tenerife, Spain
Click here for competition details
England U17s put Wednesday's draw with Armenia firmly behind them on Friday, as they hit seven goals against Estonia in their second game of European Championship qualifying stage.
The second half saw a goal flurry, as the Young Lions hit five of their goals after the break to send John Peacock's team into their final game with hosts Spain with plenty of positives to draw upon.
England's first half performance set the standard as they enjoyed the lion's share of the possession and took the lead just shy of the 20th minute, when defender Tom Parkes got on the end of a wide free kick from Jack Wilshere.
In the 36th minute the Young Lions doubled their lead through José Baxter. The goal was made from midfield, as Ryan Tunnicliffe burst through into the box and saw a shot well saved by Estonian goalkeeper Marko Meerits. The ball rebounded out to the Everton striker and he squeezed a shot back on target which rolled over the line.
At the other end, England goalkeeper Ryan Allsop had only one save to make when Erkki Junolainen sent a shot straight at the West Bromwich Albion stopper.
The teams emerged for the second half with Jonjo Shelvey in place of Emmanuel Frimpong and the Charlton Athletic midfielder had an instant impact as he netted with a half volley from a corner nine minutes after the re-start.
Two minutes later, Luke Freeman made it 4-0 with a close range finish and that proved to be the last action for the Arsenal man as he was replaced by Plymouth Argyle striker Liam Head.
Baxter then fired in a shot just after the hour mark which took a deflection off Joonas Tamm and flew into the net.
England still weren't finished and Head got his name on the scoresheet in the 63rd minute when he swivelled in the box before smashing home into the top corner to make it six.
Tunnicliffe then finished the rout in the final minute as England did their goal difference no harm at all ahead of Monday's encounter with Spain.
England: Ryan Allsop, James Hurst, Edward Oshodi (c), Tom Parkes, Jamie Reckord, Emmanuel Frimpong (Jonjo Shelvey, 41) Ryan Tunnicliffe, Jack Wilshere (Jacob Walcott, 55) José Baxter, Billy Knott, Luke Freeman (Liam Head, 51).
Substitutes not used: Jed Steer, Keanu Marsh-Brown, Ezekiel Fryers, John Bostock.
Estonia: Marko Meerits, Taavi Viikna, Aleksander Kulinits, Erkki Junolainen, Maksim Podholjuzin, Joonas Tamm (Kaarel Torp, 41) Karl Mool, Raiko Karpov (Silver Latt, 71) Stanislav Goldberg, Rain Aasmae, Hannes Anier, Joonas Kotka
Substitutes not used: Andreas Sutt, Kevin Ingermann, Egert Heintare, Karl-Eerik Luigend, Joonas Kotka.
Images courtesy of Ken Sheldon.