Spain make England work for draw
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Article summary
England 2-2 Spain Only a brave second-half fightback saved England from crashing to a home defeat on coach Stuart Pearce's debut with the Under-21 squad.
Article body
England 2-2 Spain
Advantage Spain
Spain, who unlike their hosts will not feature at this summer's UEFA European U21 Championship, opened the scoring in the 34th minute at Pride Park when Roberto Soldado rounded Scott Carson before slotting the ball into the top corner. The visitors then doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time as José Jurado found himself unmarked to pass it beyond Carson from ten metres.
England revived
After a lacklustre first half, England picked up the pace in the second and got themselves back into the game on 50 minutes when David Nugent fired in a half-volley after the Spain defence had failed to clear a free-kick. Spain twice came close to increasing their lead, first on 68 minutes when substitute Xisco hit the foot of the post and again on 74 minutes when Raúl García had a spectacular volley saved by Carson. Leroy Lita finally equalised for England on 79 minutes with a well-placed header before Jurado squandered a late chance to win it for Spain.