England U21s continued their unbeaten start to their Euro qualifying campaign with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Ukraine in Kiev.
Dominic Solanke’s early strike and an own goal from Ukraine’s Pavlo Lukyanchuk in the second half proved the difference at the Obolon Arena.
With regular skipper Joe Gomez, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham all involved with the senior squad, U20 World Cup-winning captain Lewis Cook donned the U21s’ armband for the first time.
And the Young Lions knew they were in for a tough evening from the start, as Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko carved the first opening by feeding Stanislav Bilkenny, who shot off target when in space in the box.
After an even opening quarter of an hour, Aidy Boothroyd’s side enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure and took the lead.
Ainsley Maitland Niles and Kyle Walker-Peters saw their initial attempts blocked, before in-form Nottingham Forest man Kieran Dowell played in Solanke, who finished emphatically from 18-yards.
Demarai Gray then worked his way into a good position down the right flank but edged his attempt narrowly wide before the lively Zinchenko’s strike was inches wide of Angus Gunn’s goal.
The hosts were quick out of the traps again and came close to levelling as the second half got underway when only a vital intervention from Gunn thwarted half-time substitute Artem Besedin from close range.
Boothroyd then introduced Axel Tuanzebe for his U21 debut as well as striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and moments later, their lead was doubled – somewhat against the run of play.
Cook embarked on a marauding run before playing in Solanke, who in turn fed Gray and his dangerous cross was turned into his own net by the unfortunate Lukianchuk.
With their tails up, England continued to attack – the lively Gray cut inside on the left flank only to see his strike drift narrowly wide.
To cap off a successful evening, Norwich City’s James Maddison was brought on for his Young Lions debut and almost made an instant impact – as his lofted free-kick caused mayhem in the home side’s backline before the ball eventually scrambled clear.
The result leaves Boothroyd’s side on top of their qualifying group going into 2018, when they will face Ukraine next March on home soil.
England: 1 Angus Gunn (Norwich City, loan from Manchester City); 2 Jonjoe Kenny (Everton), 5 Joe Worrall (Nottingham Forest), 6 Fikayo Tomori (Hull City, loan from Chelsea), 3 Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham Hotspur); 4 Lewis Cook (AFC Bournemouth) ( c), 8 Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), 10 Kieran Dowell (Nottingham Forest, loan from Everton); 7 Demarai Gray (Leicester City), 9 Dominic Solanke (Liverpool), 11 Ademola Lookman (Everton)
Substitutes: 14 Axel Tuanzebe (Manchester United) for Maitland-Niles 56, 16 Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) for Dowell 57, 19 James Maddison (Norwich City) for Solanke 79
Substitutes not used: 12 Jake Clarke-Salter (Chelsea), 13 Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United), 15 Sam Field (West Bromwich Albion), 17 Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Head coach: Aidy Boothroyd
Goals: Dominic Solanke 16, Pavlo Lukyanchuk 62 (OG)
Cautions: Lewis Cook 60
