England U-21s match seniors with dismal draw

England U21 0 Ukraine U21 0. England's junior Three Lions were held to a goalless draw by Ukraine last night in their second European Championship pool match. It was another limp performance from England, all too reminiscent of the unimaginative stodge served up on a regular basis by the senior England squad.

Worryingly, young England's results at the Under 21 championships are mirroring those of England at last year's World Cup in South Africa; on that occasion Fabio Capello's side began with a 1-1 draw against the United States before grinding out a dispiriting and goalless stalemate against Algeria.

England Under 21 drew with Spain on Sunday and have now recorded a dispiriting and goalless stalemate in their second match, albeit against Ukraine, a team with more talent than Algeria.

If they continute to emulate their elders (if not their betters), then the Under 21s will unconvincingly beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in their final pool match on Sunday before getting hammered in the knockout phase. That's what happened last year to England in the World Cup when they edged past Slovenia 1-0 before Germany walloped them 4-1 in the last 16.

England Under 21 coach Stuart pearce tried his utmost to strike a positive note after the bore draw, saying : "We've played two matches against two really tough sides." He also pointed out that his boys have conceded just one goal in two games. True, but they've also scored one goal in two games.

Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge came closest to finding the net for England against Ukraine, hitting the crossbar with one effort and producing a couple of sharp saves from keeper Anton Kanibolitskiy on other occasions. The best chance of the evening for England fell to Danny Welbeck but he blasted wide from 10 yards after being sent clear with a sweet pass from Sturridge.

England keeper Frankie Fielding also had a busy night and pulled off  a good save late on from Roman Zozulya to deny Ukraine the three points.

With Spain defeating the Czech Republic in the pool's other game, England lie third in the group and must beat the Czechs on Sunday to have any chance of progressing into the knockout stage of the championships. "Our destiny is in our own hands," admitted Pearce, adding: "This is why you bring players to tournaments, to perform under pressure."

Or in the case of the senior England squad to perform below par. ·