Filed under: Football, England Football
England under-21's snatched a late equaliser through Danny Welbeck after Spain failed to make their dominance pay in their European Championship opener in Denmark.Ander Herrera appeared to use his wrist when he opened the scoring, then he and his team-mates controlled the game and looked like they could easily find another gear if needed.
But Welbeck struck with two minutes remaining, punishing the Spaniards for not finishing off their opponents after enjoying the majority of possession.
England were controversially without Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll, while Spain fielded players with experience in the seniors and two World Cup winners' medals as well.
The direct style of Stuart Pearce's team also suited Spain, who played the passing game that has seen them crowned world and European champions.
They were ahead in the 13th minute through Herrera and, for all their slick passing, the opener came from a set-piece.
Michael Mancienne may have been held when the corner was swung over, and it left Javi Martinez free to flick on and Herrera available to finish from close range, using a combination of head and wrist.
Spain predictably dominated possession but England remained a threat on the break, even though they struggled to retain the ball when kicks went up field.
David de Gea, a target for Manchester United, pulled off a superb save just before the break when Daniel Sturridge almost finished off good work from Kyle Walker.
Herrera was denied another goal in the second half when Frank Fielding tipped his effort around the post. Then Walker set up the leveller, cutting in from the right and finding Welbeck, who calmly finished but looked offside.
REACTION:
England coach Pearce admitted his side could have played better but hailed the spirit in his squad:
"There is no doubt there is spirit in this camp. It's not just me coming out after a game and saying it, I've said it for a long time. I know they are never going to give up and will always carry on."
On the possession the Spanish enjoyed:
"We perhaps needed a touch more arrogance when we were on the ball, credit to them they are a good side and good technically. We are disappointed with the goal we conceded and that probably gave them a lift. Historically Spanish teams get their noses in front and show that arrogance they had."
On whether his team will improve:
"Our boys probably didn't know how much time they had or how much composure they needed to show, but we'll learn a lesson form that. We know we'll get better and know it will be tough in our group. As a learning curve it was a fantastic evening."
On taking chances:
"If we had the amount of possession they did, the score would have been 4-0 or 5-0 to us. Credit to our players to keep going. We can play a lot better than that technically and individually, and we will do."
Welbeck refused to accept the draw felt like a victory:
"It doesn't feel like a win. In the first half they took control of the game and we sat back a bit too much. But in the second half we got more into it and got more possession. We created a few chances and could have stuck a couple more away but in the end we were delighted to get the goal. I think every goal counts, we set a platform and now have to build on it."
On England's team spirit:
"We have a great team spirit, we're going to get our rest and recovery and train for the next game, raring to go."
England Under-21 defender Chris Smalling revealed Pearce had given his team belief during the half-time interval:
"In the first half they had a lot of the ball but at half-time the manager emphasised that we had the better chances. With the amount of ball they had they didn't create too much. The manager said to keep up the belief and in the second half we asserted ourselves more. I think we had the better chances and it was a well-deserved point."
On how to play against Spain:
"We studied a lot of videos about their possession and their key ball but the manager said we needed to get after them and put them under pressure. You could see they started to give the ball away when we started to assert ourselves. It got better as the game went on but it was unfortunate we didn't start like that."
WHAT IT MEANS:
It was a morale-boosting point for England, who would have feared an early elimination if they had lost. Now they face Ukraine and will have the semi-finals in their sights if they win. Spain will see this as a missed opportunity to take control of the group.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/06/12/spain-under-21s-1-england-under-21s-1-late-leveller-from-dann/
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