England beat France to reach the Final
Thursday, 30 July, 2009
Goals from Henri Lansbury and a Nathan Delfouneso brace seal a Final place
Nicholas Veevers at the Olimpiyskyi Stadium
England took a step closer to winning the UEFA European U19 Championship on Thursday when they deservedly saw off France in Donetsk to seal a place in the competition’s Final.
Whilst the game went to extra time, the Young Lions were well worth their victory and they would no doubt have won the game in the 90 minutes had it not been for the heroics of French goalkeeper Remi Pillot who made a number of fine saves to keep England at bay.
It wasn’t enough to keep England at bay though and a brace in the first period of extra time from striker Nathan Delfouneso put Brian Eastick’s side into Sunday’s showdown against either Serbia or Ukraine at the Olimpiyskyi Stadium.
Whilst England were comfortably the better and more incisive team over the game, France actually made the better start and forced the first real effort on goal after six minutes, when Emmanuel Riviere chested down Ryad Boudebouz’s ball through for Magaye Gueye, but his low shot was well dealt with by Jason Steele.
Steele had no chance in the eighth minute though as the pacy Yacine Brahimi made his way down the left far too easily before pulling a ball back for Gueye, who duly swept home from eight yards with his left foot.
For the first 30 minutes, England struggled to move the ball as well as they had done against Slovenia previously with Danny Welbeck, Rhys Murphy and Delfouneso largely starved of possession in the crucial final third.
When they did receive the ball to feet and in space though, England’s three pronged attack looked dangerous. Delfouneso almost made the most of that when he received the ball on the left, breaking inside past Sebastien Corchia and Mathieu Peybemes but he was just out-muscled in the area by Abdel El Kaoutari and the chance had gone.
England had a great opportunity to draw level in the 33rd minute, when Joe Bennett’s free-kick into the box picked out Matthew Briggs at the far post but he didn’t fully connect with his volley and the ball went wide.
They didn’t have to wait long to get back level though and an equaliser arrived in the 38th minute. Danny Drinkwater’s free-kick from the edge of the area hit the France defensive wall, but when the ball landed at the feet of Henri Lansbury. He made no mistake and smashed a low shot into the goal, giving Pillot no chance and send the teams in level at the break.
With no changes made by either side at half time, England looked to carry on where they left off but it was France who came closest when Joshua Guilavogui struck a powerful shot narrowly wide in the 47th minute.
France then had another good chance in the 54th minute when Riviere did well to collect a long ball and play it into the path of substitute Damien Le Tallec. He was in a good position to shoot but tried to pass it on again and Kieran Trippier was well positioned to intercept.
England were still comfortable though and from then on looked the only side likely to win the game. It took a fine save from Pillot to keep France level just shy of the hour, when Drinkwater played an incisive one-two with Welbeck to breach their defence. He hit a powerful left-footer, but Pillot got a vital touch to it and the ball flashed agonisingly wide.
Pillot again denied the Young Lions in the 64th minute when Welbeck tricked his way into some space in the area and when his low cross was only half cleared by France, Lansbury’s follow-up was straight at the French keeper.
Welbeck then broke through on goal and when he clashed with Corchia just as he was about to shoot, the ball fell invitingly for Delfouneso on the by-line. He brought it back into the danger zone, but a combination of Pillot and Peybemes cleared his close range effort off the line.
France were also reduced to ten men after that incident, with Corchia receiving his second booking for the foul on Welbeck although he was bizarrely allowed the sit the rest of the game out from the bench.
After receiving treatment, Welbeck was back on the pitch although it was only momentarily as he was then clattered in the area by Pillot after the whistle had gone for an English free-kick right on the edge of the area follwoing a foul on Dan Gosling in the build-up. Nile Ranger came on to replace the striker.
Again, Pillot was the difference for France though as he blocked Lansbury’s shot from that free-kick to keep them hanging in there.
Ranger then had the ball in the net in the 82nd minute when he headed home Lansbury’s cross after a flick-on by Delfouneso, but an offside flag was raised and any celebrations were cut short.
With France recovering from that England pressure, the game duly went to extra-time and it was less than two minutes old when the Young Lions finally took the lead they deserved. Ranger did superbly on the left to hold off the hefty Alfred N’Diaye before picking out fellow substitute Joe Mattock. He traded passes with Bennett and when Pillot could only parry his shot, Delfouneso was there to tap home from close range.
A minute later, Delfouneso tested Pillot again, this time with a left-footer from the edge of the area but the French keeper was able to make a full save this time as England looked to add a two goal cushion.
Drinkwater then fired a low shot wide of the post after jinking his way into the area from the right as England looked to make their extra man count.
With the first period of extra time nearly over, England got the third goal they had been threatening, when Bennett ran at the defence before playing a slide rule pass into the area for Delfouneso. The Aston Villa man cut inside one defender before rounding Pillot to put his country in firm control with his fourth goal of the competition.
France weren’t happy with things and their petulance showed with just a few minutes left when El Kaoutari receivced a second booking for a cynical foul on Gosling and Boudebouz followed him down the tunnel after receiving a straight red card for his reaction.
England didn’t let the hullabaloo affect them though and with that two goal cushion in place, England slowed down their tempo for the final 15 minutes of the game and also saw El Kaoutari sent off for a cynical foul on Gosling, before rightfully lauding the applause from the crowd at the final whistle.