Grant Leadbitter won his third England Under-21 cap – and his first start – in helping Stuart Pearce's side to a 2-0 friendly win over Wales at Wrexham last night.
Leadbitter played from the start in a midfield also featuring Middlesbrough's Lee Cattermole and Adam Johnson before being replaced by Fabrice Muamba with 17 minutes left.
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Have your say in our football survey and you could win £100By then, England had clinched victory against Brian Flynn's impressive Welsh side thanks to goals from Tom Huddlestone (penalty) and a deflected Theo Walcott drive.
Easington-born winger Johnson – who enjoyed an excellent outing – won the spot-kick when he cut in from the left and was tripped by Neil Eardley.
Boro left-back Andrew Taylor was lucky to avoid an early own goal on his seventh cap. Ched Evans' cross was met by Sam Vokes, whose first shot was blocked by keeper Joe Hart, but the ball cannoned back off Taylor and trickled inches wide of the post.
Taylor also sliced a Shaun MacDonald cross onto his own bar, with Hart beaten. A fourth Boro player, David Wheater, skippered the side, but had a challenging first half before going off. He now meets up with the England senior squad for the games against USA and Trinidad and Tobago.
Boss Pearce said: "I learned a lot. I know Michael Mancienne can play centre-half. Tom Huddlestone is improving, Adam Johnson and Theo are getting better with every game."
WALES U21s: Hennessey, Eardley (Ribeiro 62), Jacobson, Collison, Gunter, Nyatanga, Cotterill (Adams 77), D Edwards, Vokes (Church 63), Evans (Davies 77), MacDonald
ENGLAND U21s: Hart (Lewis 46), Cranie, Taylor (O'Hara 57), Cattermole, Mancienne, Wheater (Dann 46), Walcott, Huddlestone, Agbonlahor (Blackstock 57), Leadbitter (Muamba 73), Johnson (Shawcross 86). Goals: Huddlestone 19 pen, Walcott 25. Att: 6,831.
The full article contains 316 words and appears in Sunderland Echo newspaper.
