The game began in lively fashion and a first half, which John McDermott's Young Lions had largely the better of, saw both teams take it in turns creating chances that could have opened the scoring.

Scotland had the first of the early opportunities, but Glass's strike inside two minutes with just the 'keeper to beat was dealt with well by Forest stopper Patrick Gamble. Andrew Bagshaw also came close but his effort just missed the upright from Glass's miskick.

At the other end, Myles Weston was the instigator behind much of England's good forward movement. First his beautiful left-hand cross caused a commotion in the Scottish box and the ball fell to the left-foot of Tottenham's Nathan Peprah who fired against the post. Next it was Weston himself with a golden chance but was foiled well by Scott Murray between the Scottish sticks.

However, with 27 minutes gone the Charlton Athletic forward put England in front with a sublime finish. A free-kick just to the right of the home side's goal ten yards outside the box, gave Weston the chance to take responsibility. His sweeping shot curled over Murray and into the corner of the net to put England in the driving seat.  

Weston again came close with another free-kick. This time after the turnaround at the other end, the deep in-swinger foxed Murray but the bar was in the way to save Scotland from going further behind and within a minute they were level.

The ball rebounding from the woodwork allowed Scotland to clear their lines and catch England on the counter. Glass held up possession in an advanced position on the right as he awaited Tartan support. Skipper Bagshaw was first on the scene and as Glass skipped past the challenge and fired low into the danger-zone, Bagshaw directed the ball beyond the dive of replacement 'keeper Zac Jones and in off the post to keep up his goal-a-game rate for Scotland in this tournament.

Both teams had chances to snatch the win in the final moments, Weston and Jamie Mullen for England, and the highlighted-head of Bagshaw thwarted by Jones, but the scores remained level.

Though England took the lead, Coach John McDermott was happy with the draw and felt that the end result was a fair one, and after a tough three games, was satisifed with what he will take away:

"We were disappointed that we didn't hold onto the lead, but I think, on the night, it was a fair result. Both teams had chances and were very competitive, which made for an exciting match," he said.

"All the games in the tournament this year have been different. The Welsh game was physical very hard. Tonight, out there, it was a big pitch and in a scrappy first half I think both sets of players were perhaps a little bit daunted by the occasion, but this year overall it was quite close.

"There were four decent teams playing for the Victory Shield this year, and although we scored four pas both Wales and Northern Ireland, I thought we were a little bit fortunate at times."

He added: "But, with a big selection of players to choose from, we've learned a lot tonight. We had some good performances and showed good penetration in and around the box.

"Now we'll sit down and evaluate those performances of the thirty-three lads who have taken part in this tournament with a view to other competitions and matches during the next year."

The draw means that both teams are inseparable at the top of the table with seven points and despite England enjoying a slightly better goal-difference, under competition rules the Shield is shared and England keep a grip on the spoils, if only with one hand, for a third successive year.

Teams:

Scotland
Murray, Mitchell, Stevenson, G Cameron, Laird, Gray, Cave-Brown, Emslie, Bagshaw (c), Glass, Lennon

England:
Patrick Gamble, Scott Gardner, Chris Riley, Micah Richards, Nathan Peprah, Jordan Holmes (c), Jamie Mullen, Daniel MacDonald, Joe Garner, Ryan Woods, Myles Weston.
Subs: Leigh Mills, Zac Jones, Lewis McGugan, Kieran Kelly, Theo Walcott, Hogan Ephraim, Darryl Knights