England 3-2 Holland
History repeated itself on Tuesday night as Darren Bent scored a late winner for the England Under-21s.
Bent popped up two minutes from time to give England a 3-2 win – just as he had done last June at the same stadium against Serbia and Montenegro.
Same player, same time, same ground, same scoreline. Spooky!
Overall, it was a joyous night for David Platt’s newlook England. Twice they had led with goals from debutants Dean Ashton and David Bentley before being pegged back by the Dutch.
Then Bent, who had only been on the field six minutes, lost his marker to meet Bentley’s cross and delight the largest crowd in the short history of Hull City’s KC Stadium - 25,280.
Seven of manager David Platt’s starting line-up were making their Under-21 debuts with captain Glen Johnson, Nigel Reo-Coker and Carlton Cole the only ones with previous experience at this level.
This was a real test for them all, with Holland renowned for producing football superstars from Cruyff to van Nistelrooy.
Their new generation opened brightly with Leeds United goalkeeper Scott Carson forced to save well from Danny Mathijssen in the opening minute.
But Cole and Reo-Coker got England’s attack working, with Cole heavily featuring in the opening goal after 23 minutes.
Charlton’s on-loan striker from Chelsea showed great trickery to move inside the penalty area.
Instead of trying to beat Michael Vorm at the near post, he unselfishly squared the ball back to Ashton and the Crewe striker – who has played at England at Under-19 and 20 levels – fired emphatically into the roof of the net.
Ashton’s control and mobility were proving a distraction to the Holland back line and they nearly gifted him a second goal before the half-hour.
Nick Hofs seemed more interested in shepherding the ball out of play than Ashton, when the Crewe striker stretched his leg to toepoke a shot that deflected off the defender onto the post.
Bentley, who scored an outstanding goal for Arsenal in this season’s FA Cup with an extravagant chip, also tried his luck after 43 minutes with a low shot that had Vorm scampering across his goal.
England sent on Justin Hoyte for Nicky Hunt at the start of the second half but it was Holland’s outfield substitution who made an instant impact.
Jack Tuyp, on for captain Robin van Persie of Feyenoord, scored with his first touch in the opening minute of the half, running between Johnson and Taylor in the heart of the home defence and slipping a decisive low finish past Carson.
Incredibly, Tuyp could have put Holland ahead after 50 minutes with his second contribution – but this time he fired a couple of yards wide after finding space in the penalty area.
Platt sent on two more debutants, Peter Whittingham and the highly-acclaimed Jon Stead, with twenty minutes left.
Stead has scored two goals in two games for Blackburn Rovers following a move from Huddersfield in the January transfer window and his arrival certainly inspired an increase in attacking activity.
Bentley struck emphatically with a left-foot drive from 25-yards to put England ahead after 72 minutes.
The Arsenal star showed great technique to shape his body around the ball and fire into the corner.
But the KC Stadium's biggest crowd had their celebrations cut short ninety seconds later when Paul Verhaegh’s cross found an unmarked Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and his acrobatic effort levelled the scores once again. Stead almost snatched the lead back for England with a quick turn and shot saved low by sub goalkeeper Boy Waterman.
Bent then came on for the final eight minutes alongside Richard Chaplow and the Ipswich striker was on the spot to turn in Stead’s cross for another winner.
Team Details
England: Carson: Hunt (Hoyte, 45), Johnson, Taylor, Ridgewell; Bentley, Reo-Coker (Chaplow, 82), Welsh, Downing (Whittingham, 69); Cole (Bent, 82), Ashton (Stead, 69)
Goals: Ashton 23, Bentley 72, Bent 88
Holland: Vorm (Waterman, 45): Verhaegh, Sprockel, Jansen, van Mosselveld, Hofs, de Ridder (Fafiani, 79), Mathijssen, Huntelaar, van Persie (Tuyp, 45), Castelen
Goals: Tuyp 46, Huntelaar 74