Slovakia 0-4 England

UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Group 7 Qualifier
FC Spartak - Trnava

Joe Cole capped an excellent return to the England Under-21 side by hitting a scorching fourth goal and creating two in England Under-21s comfortable victory in their European Championship qualifier with Slovakia in Trnava

Sven-Goran Eriksson and all of his coaching staff beat the Friday night traffic and persistent rain to see a virtuoso performance from Joe Cole inspire the Under-21s to a convincing victory in their first European Championship qualifier.

This was the first time that Cole had pulled on an Under-21 shirt since he mesmerised Germany at this level to inspire a dramatic 2-1 win in August last year. Though Joe has enjoyed a World Cup adventure in the intervening months, he continued exactly where he left off for David Platt's side tonight. His jinking runs into space, his acceleration off the mark and his devastating skill make him the kind of threat at this level that we hope he will ultimately become for the Senior team.

In an open game, it was the hosts who had the first threatening effort when Augustin Paulik's venomous effort from the edge of the area brought an excellent save from debutant Matt Murray between the sticks.

Slokvia continued to look dangerous, particularly from set pieces, but, with Cole given licence to roam where his talents could do the most damage, England always looked to have the greater imagination and cutting edge about their attacking play.

After Ameobi had put in England's first shot on goal - an effort which was well saved on by Jan Mucha on eight minutes - it was the lively Francis Jeffers who looked most likely to open the scoring.

First, on 17 minutes, Arsenal's 'fox in the box' intercepted a back pass and expertly rounded the 'keeper only to see his seemingly goal-bound effort come back off the post. Seven minutes later, Jeffers threatened again, surging into the box before firing a ferocious effort just over the bar.

Ultimately it was not Jeffers but his strike partner Ameobi who registered the vital first strike for the young lions. Predictably, Joe Cole was at the heart of the goal, producing a wonderfully disguised reverse pass to find Ameobi in a yard of space just inside the area. The imposing Newcastle striker took a touch to kill the ball before drilling home with a left strike.

It was Ameobi's fourth strike in 12 caps for the Under-21s and it visibly gave the whole team a lift. Indeed, Shola almost made it five with a flying header which Mucha tipped around the post right on half-time.

Slovakia came back out in determined fashion for the second period and, though Murray was never really stretched to the limit, the hosts forward rampages, many of which were inspired by their Diego Forlan lookalike, Branislav Obzera, showed that they were not without a threat of their own.

Once again though England had a simple answer - give the ball to Joe Cole. On 53 minutes, he picked up the ball just inside the opponents half and simply pushed the turbo button to sear towards the penalty area. When he got there he slipped in Jeffers but the striker's finish was not as good as his well-timed angled run.

On 61 minutes an incident occurred which probably took the game irrevocably away from Slovakia. Their big number 8, Dolezas, clattered into Jeffers but the referee showed the yellow card to his team-mate Poncak, who had already been booked in the first. A little bewildered, he trudged off, leaving his side down to ten men.

Not that it bothered Jeffers too much. Within a minute, he was back on his feet, chipping the ball home after Cole had found him on the right hand edge of the area. It was a neat finish which gave Jeffers his eighth strike in eleven outings at this level. It has been a long road back to fitness for the former Everton man but there were clear signs here tonight that he looks to be returning to his sharpest.

Indeed there were no clearer sign than his second goal of the game on 76 minutes. Jlloyd Samuel provided the pass and Jeffers provided an exemplary left foot finish, which sped home, nestling just inside the near post. Nine goals in eleven games is an impressive record by any standards.

However, Joe Cole was determined that this was to be his night and, on 86 minutes, he ensured that his was the name that would be on Sven's mind as he headed back down the motorway to Bratislava. Collecting the ball on the left, the little magician drifted past two bemused defenders before unleashing a rocket into the top right hand corner. It was probably the finest strike of Cole's burgeoning career.

With the game won, David Platt was able to give Taylor and Dawson their debuts at this level. Both looked composed and confident - David Platt will be encouraged about the future.

Sven-Goran Eriksson may be thinking that Joe Cole is one for the present.

From Daniel Freedman Trnava

England: Murray, Samuel, Konchesky, Carrick, Bramble, Barry (captain), Prutton, Jenas, Jeffers, Ameobi, Cole
Subs: Crouch, Howarth, Dawson, Clarke, Wright-Phillips, Taylor, Pennant

Goals: Ameobi 34, Jeffers 63, 76, Cole 86