England held in check in Vilnius

England missed out on the chance to draw level on points with Greece at the top of Group 9 in qualifying for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship after being held to a goalless draw in Lithuania.

Carroll chance
Newcastle United FC striker Andrew Carroll came closest to scoring on 50 minutes after profiting from Tom Cleverley's run to coax the ball past Vytautas Černiauskas but against the crossbar. Chelsea FC's Daniel Sturridge had earlier failed to convert a clinical ninth-minute counterattack and was subsequently denied by Černiauskas on two occasions during a first half largely dominated by the visitors.

Lithuania chances
Clear openings remained at a premium in the second period, though the hosts did threaten through an Arvydas Novikovas shot and a Tadas Eliošius header. However, Vitalijus Stankevičius's side, who picked up their first win of the campaign against FYR Macedonia on Friday, were forced to settle for an impressive point that kept England second in the section behind Greece, who lost 2-1 to Portugal. The top two meet in March.