England 1-1 France

UEFA Euro U21 Championship
Play-Off, First-Leg
Tottenham Hotspur FC
Friday 11 November 2005

Darren Ambrose fired a late equaliser to keep alive England's chances of reaching the UEFA European U21 Championships next summer.

It was a record crowd for an England Under-21 fixture as nearly 35,000 fans piled into White Hart Lane for this crucial play-off encounter.

Peter Taylor's side looked to be facing an uphill struggle after Sunderland's on-loan Liverpool forward Anthony Le Tallec had fired France into the lead on 47 minutes.

But despite missing a host of chances in the second-half, the young lions were rewarded when Ambrose fired home with three minutes left to keep the tie firmly alive when the two sides meet again on Tuesday night.

England dominated the opening exchanges and could have opened the scoring after just four minutes when Kieran Richardson's curling free-kick flew just past the post.

Darren Bent showed straight away that he is intent on helping the Under-21s qualify for the Championships next summer following his call-back into the squad.

Carlton Cole raced down the left before crossing in for his strike partner on six minutes.

France keeper Jeremy Gavanon had to react quickly to beat the Charlton forward to the ball who was waiting to knock the ball home.

Bent continued to cause all kinds of problems for the French defence on 18 minutes when he ran onto a Cole flick-on and hit a close-range shot was superbly beaten away by Gavanon diving away to his right.

But despite their early pressure, it was France who came the closest to scoring the first goal on 28 minutes.

Tom Huddlestone lost possession of the ball midway in the England half allowing Franck Ribery to race into the box.

The Marseille midfielder saw his shot eventually cleared off the line by Peter Whittingham who did exceptionally well to stop the ball crossing over the line.

England made the worst possible start to the second-half when France broke the deadlock two minutes in.

Le Tallec played a neat interchange with Jimmy Briand inside the box before coolly slotting the ball past Carson into the corner of the net.

Le Tallec almost grabbed his second of the game on 54 minutes when his curling free-kick from the edge of the box just flew wide of the post.

Bent had another golden chance to pull England back into the game on 61 minutes when Peter Whittingham's high ball picked out the prolific forward who headed the ball past Gavanon.

The ball looked destined for the back of the net, but defender Ronald Zubar somehow managed to chase back and clear the ball off the line.

Bent must have thought it was not going to be his night just sixty seconds later when he found himself totally unmarked inside the box, but fired the ball over the crossbar from just five-yards out.

It was clear to see why Bent has gained promotion into the senior party as he caused nothing but problems for the French defence throughout the ninety minutes.

It was then Tom Huddlestone's turn to come close for Taylor's men but he was denied on 81 minutes when his header was cleared off the line by France substitute Jeremy Berthod.

But the Young Lions were given their just rewards for a battling performance when Ambrose fired a much needed equaliser on 87 minutes.

The Charlton winger was in the right place at the right time to turn home a Dean Ashton cross and set up a mouth-watering encounter in the second-leg in Nancy.

England: Carson (Liverpool);Taylor (Wigan), Dawson (Tottenham), Ferdinand (West Ham), Peter Whittingham (Aston Villa); James Milner (Aston Villa) (Dean Ashton (Norwich), 78), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Kieran Richardson (Manchester United), Darren Ambrose (Charlton); Darren Bent (Charlton), Carlton Cole (Chelsea)
Subs not used: Nedum Onuoha (Manchester City), Lee Camp (Derby County), Curtis Davies (West Brom), Justin Hoyte (Sunderland), John Welsh (Hull City), Luke Moore (Aston Villa)

Goals: Ambrose 87

France: Gavanon; Sagna, Zubar, Badiane, Clichy (Berthod, 46); Faubert, Le Tallec, Toulalan (Didot, 23), Zubar, Ribery (Bourillon, 84); Briand
Subs not used: Faty, Mandanda, Fauverge, Pongolle

Goals: Le Tallec 47

Att: 34,494

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Assistants: Henrik Andren and Erik Bergsten (Sweden)