England 1-1 Belgium

UEFA Under 19 Championship, Group B Match
Wednesday 24th July , Kongsvinger

Another late equaliser, this time for Belgium, costs England two more points in their second UEFA Under-19 Championship Group B fixture

It was a case of déjà vu for England's young lions as they relinquished victory at the last in a 1-1 draw against Belgium on Wednesday evening.

After a frustrating but entertaining 3-3 draw against Germany on Monday, Martin Hunter's men were determined to impose themselves on these European Under-19 Championships with a win over Belgium to set up Friday's crunch encounter with Ireland.

And, although we didn't manage to hit the heights of the attacking play that we produced against Germany, Dean Ashton's second goal in two games gave us the platform to go on and secure those precious three points only for Belgium to hit us with the sucker punch of a late leveller just as Germany had done only two days earlier.

Coach Martin Hunter shuffled his pack for the second of the three group games bringing Carlton Cole, Michael Chopra and Ben Bowditch into the starting eleven for Dean Ashton, Jerome Thomas and John Welsh respectively.

Bowditch, England's midfield anchorman, introduced himself to Belgium's inspirational play-maker and his new Spurs team-mate, Jonthan Blondel, with a crunching tackle after seven minutes. It earned him a booking and left his Belgian counterpart under no illusions about the closeness of the attention the young lions intended to pay to him.

In a subdued first half performance England struggled to find the flowing rhythm on which this side thrives and it was Belgium who enjoyed the better of the play without ever testing Lee Grant.

England's best moments came in a flurry of action just after the half hour. In the space of two minutes, Pennant, Cole and Chopra all went within inches of giving us the lead. Pennant's free-kick, Cole's angled drive and Chopra's header may all have gone in on another day but the young lions were missing by the finest of margins in a first half which never really caught fire.

England came out with more aggression and purpose in the second period and, with Carlton Cole a constant threat up front, we began to up the tempo and the pressure.

On 55 minutes Pennant's neatly disguised reverse pass played Chopra in behind the defence and his pull back gave Cole a clear shooting opportunity. The Chelsea man's effort was struck powerfully enough but Verbist dived to his right to claim the ball. 

Martin Hunter decided it was time to introduce Dean Ashton after 67 minutes and, within eight minutes of entering the fray, Crewe's prolific young marksman had given us the lead.

Ryan Garry wrapped his left foot around a free-kick on the right flank to find Ashton rising above his marker at the far post. His initial header was parried and, after Jermaine Jenas had seen his reflex header blocked, Ashton snapped up his second chance with sharp volley.

1-0 up with fifteen minutes to go, consolidation and concentration were required but, for the second time in three days, we were unable to hold onto that precious lead.

If Dean Ashton was an inspired substitution for England, the introduction of Stijn Janssens proved to be a masterstroke by Belgium boss Marc Van Geersom. Within a minute of taking to the field Janssens wriggled his way between Johnson and Hoyte to latch onto a hopeful long-ball through the centre. His control was exemplary and his low strike clinical. Our advantage had been cancelled out and we were suddenly contemplating the prospect of two more dropped points.

Credit our boys for a gutsy final ten minutes in which Jerome Thomas' wing-play terrorised a Belgium defence all too happy to protect their point.

Twice we rattled the bar through Chopra's bullet header and Darren Carter's searing injury-time free-kick but, though we huffed and puffed, we were unable to blow Belgium away.

Naturally the players were disappointed not to have taken all three points but coach Martin Hunter will be impressing on his troops the importance of Friday's final group game against Ireland.

Even though Germany defeated Ireland 3-0 in Wednesday's other Group B game, there still remains the possibility of England progressing to the final should Belgium claim victory over Germany and we do likewise against Ireland.

Furthermore, a top three finish in the group will secure England's berth in the FIFA World Youth Championships to be held in the United Arab Emirates next year. Should they get there, these young England stars of the future will not need reminding of the importance of holding onto a lead.

From Daniel Freedman in Oslo

England: Grant, Hoyte, Garry (Carter 80), Jenas (c), Johnson, Clark, Bowditch, O'Neil, Pennant (Thomas 76), Chopra, Cole (Ashton 67)
Subs not used: Cooke, Lonergan, Welsh, Otsemobor

England Goals: Ashton 75

Belgium Goals: Janssens 82