Watch highlights of the game in Coventry
England Under-21s continued their winning start to the new Euro Qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory over Kazakhstan in Coventry.
There was no doubting that Gareth Southgate’s side were deserved winners, but as the head coach had warned in the build-up, England had to show patience in their search for a breakthrough.
England U21s 3-0 Kazakhstan
UEFA European U21 Championship
Group 9
Ricoh Arena
Tuesday 13 October 2015
That eventually arrived in the second half when Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored his first goal for the U21s, Nathan Redmond grabbed a well-taken second, following a super assist from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, and Chuba Akpom completed the scoring with a debut goal in stoppage time.
England had made a feverish start to the game though, getting in and among their guests from the first whistle as they looked for an early breakthrough to try and prevent Kazakhstan from becoming too regimented.
England U21s ahead of kick-off against Kazakhstan
And it took a fine block from skipper Rafkat Aslan to prevent Loftus-Cheek from slotting home the opener after good work from Redmond after five minutes.
Chuba Akpom came even closer to breaking the deadlock in the 12th minute when Loftus-Cheek cleverly picked him out in the area before the debutant cracked the angle with a left-footed drive.
Loftus-Cheek then forced visiting keeper Stanislav Pavlov into a save with his feet, after latching on to a ball over the top
But Akpom really should have scored 10 minutes before the break, when he rose highest in the area to meet James Ward-Prowse’s corner only to power his header over the bar from seven yards.
Chuba Akpom flashes a header towards goal
As the first half wore on, Kazakhstan were proving harder and harder to crack with yellow shirts crowding their own area and making it tough for Redmond and Jordon Ibe to pick out their team-mates from either flank.
Southgate’s side emerged with renewed vigour for the second half though and only had to wait seven minutes after the restart to edge themselves in front.
It came when Ward-Prowse clipped a free-kick into the area for Eric Dier to bravely win a high challenge with Pavlov.
The Spurs man took a clattering in the process, but when the loose ball landed at the feet of Loftus-Cheek there was no mistake as the Chelsea star rifled home with his left foot.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek fires home England's opener
Loftus-Cheek was denied a second soon after, when Ibe’s strong run down the right resulted in a cut-back for the midfielder whose shot was deflected behind for a corner.
England still had to be wary of the threat posed by Kazakhstan though and while it may have been minimal, a low shot from Alisher Suley forced Pickford into a good save to remind the Three Lions of the danger.
It was actually Pickford who created England’s second goal too, collecting a Kazakhstan corner before pinging a pass straight into the opposition half for Redmond.
Chuba Akpom scrambles in England's third
The Norwich City man was straight on to it, before cutting inside and giving Pavlov no chance with a low shot into the bottom corner.
Loftus-Cheek came close to getting a second for himself, as he cracked a shot against the underside of the bar before England got their third and final goal in stoppage time.
With the visitors pushing for a goal, Lewis Baker won the ball back before picking out a rampaging run forward from substitute Dom Iorfa on the right.
The Wolves defender, on for the injured Joe Gomez, crossed for Akpom to complete a memorable debut from close range.
England (4-3-3): 1 Jordan Pickford (Preston North End); 2 Joe Gomez (Liverpool), 6 Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), 5 Calum Chambers (Arsenal), 3 Matt Targett (Southampton); 4 Lewis Baker (Vitesse Arnhem, loan from Chelsea), 10 Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), 8 James Ward-Prowse (captain; Southampton); 7 Jordon Ibe (Liverpool), 9 Chuba Akpom (Hull City, loan from Arsenal), 11 Nathan Redmond (Norwich City).
Substitutes: 16 Duncan Watmore (Sunderland) for Ibe 65, 12 Dominic Iorfa (Wolverhampton Wanderers) for Gomez 80, 14 Nathaniel Chalobah (Napoli, loan from Chelsea) for 84
Substitutes not used: 13 Christian Walton (Brighton & Hove Albion), , 15 Jake Forster-Caskey (MK Dons, loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), 17 James Wilson (Manchester United), 18 Cauley Woodrow (Fulham)
Goals: Loftus-Cheek 53, Redmond 69, Akpom 90
Head coach: Gareth Southgate
Kazakhstan (4-1-3-1-1): 18 Stanislas Pavlov; 4 Grigoriy Sartakov, 2 Rafkat Aslan (captain), 3 Timur Rudosselskiy, 22 Temirian Adilkhanov; 6 Miras Tuliyev; 9 Didar Zhalmukan, 11 Yerkenulan Tunggyshbayev, 13 Berick Shaikhov; 10 Alisher Suley; 17 Abat Aimbetov.
Substitutes: 12 Anuar Agaisin for Adilkhanov 46, 7 Vladimir Vomenko for Shaikov 71, 8 Rifat Nurmugamet for Suley 90
Substitutes not used: 1 Mikhail Golubnichiy (GK), 14 Anton Kuxin, 15 Oibek Baltabayev, 16 Abal Taubay
Head coach: Saulius Sirmelis
Referee: Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins (Portugal)
Assistant referees: Luis Andre Ferreira Pinto Campos and Nelson Carlos Cordeiro Moniz (Portugal)
Fourth official: Fabio Jose Costa Verissimo (Portugal)
