Young Lions held by Lithuania

Goalless draw leaves Pearce's side second in qualifying group

Last updated: 17th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Young Lions held by Lithuania

Gibbs: Injured

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England Under 21s squandered the chance to go top of Group 9 after being held to a goalless draw in Lithuania.

Stuart Pearce's youngsters had been looking to boost their chances of qualifying for the 2011 European Championship after an important victory over Portugal on Saturday.

They created a host of chances against their struggling opponents but could not find the breakthrough, while an injury to Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs added to the disappointment on a frustrating night.

England started brightly enough and Andy Carroll almost gave them a dream start but he put his header just wide in the 11th minute.

In the 20th minute it was the turn of the woodwork to save the home nation when Carroll's 20-yard shot beat Vytautas Cerniauskas but rebounded off an upright.

But a minute later England were forced to make a change when the injured Gibbs left the action to be replaced by Ryan Bertrand.

Dominating

England's youngsters were dominating the game but the finishing left a lot to be desired.

A minute before the interval, Carroll almost finished off a neat move but he volleyed Danny Rose's lofted pass across the face of the goal.

Pearce's side continued where they left off at the start of the second half and Fabrice Muamba's close-range shot flashed narrowly wide.

England should have gone ahead in the 50th minute when Tom Cleverley jinked through the Lithuanian defence and created a chance for Carroll.

Unfortunately for Pearce's side, the Newcastle man side-stepped the goalkeeper but saw his shot crash against the crossbar.

In the final 25 minutes Pearce introduced West Ham striker Zavon Hines and Henri Lansbury in place of Muamba and Daniel Sturridge as England searched for a winner, but they failed to break the deadlock and the Lithuanians held on for a draw.

England remain unbeaten in their qualification group and now face leaders Greece at Wembley next March.

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