Inexperienced England held by Poland

England U21 0 Poland U21 0

Stuart Pearce’s inexperienced England Under-21 side failed to grab their opportunity as they drew a blank in a forgettable friendly at Molineux.

Forwards Cameron Jerome, Luke Moore and Fraizer Campbell all spurned opportunities to make their mark as Pearce gave a chance to his fringe players, while Szymon Pawlowski could have even stolen it for Poland with five minutes remaining when his low shot crept past the right post.

With so many new faces – Pearce handed out five debuts in total on the night - it was perhaps no surprise England lacked cohesion at times, but the experience of international competition is sure to provide a valuable learning curve for his young team.

Coventry’s Daniel Fox, Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross and Tottenham’s Jamie O’Hara were named in an unfamiliar looking starting XI which still included six players currently plying their trade in the Barclays Premier League.

There was a first start for Birmingham striker Jerome, while Nedum Onuoha was handed the captain’s armband in Steven Taylor’s absence.

With his team virtually assured of a place in the European Championship play-offs, Pearce insisted tonight’s game would be used to give a chance to those selected to stake their claims.

And Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson did exactly that within minutes of the whistle, displaying delightful trickery to jink his way past the Polish defence before being fouled on the edge of the area.

Przemyslaw Tyton showed signs of nerves as he spilled the resulting free-kick from Craig Gardner, but the Poland goalkeeper atoned for the error by blocking Moore’s follow-up.

At times it felt like the friendly, the first between the two nations at under-21 level, was being played in Warsaw not Wolverhampton such was the noise being created by the travelling support.

And they were almost given a goal to cheer in the 11th minute when Radoslaw Majewski’s shot from the edge of the area flashed narrowly over the crossbar.

Pearce’s side soon had an even better opportunity down the other end, however.

Jerome cut inside from the left and bent a shot towards the far post, Tyton managed to get a hand to it but it took Przemyslaw Kocot to scramble the ball clear with Moore set to pounce.

The momentum of the game was slowed by a number of stoppages for treatment to Polish players and England struggled to get back into their stride.

Johnson, England’s most dangerous player, saw his claims for a penalty waved away by Dutch referee Kevin Blom after another breathtaking run ended in him going down inside the penalty area.

Next it was the turn of Jerome to race down the left only for him to cross behind the onrushing Gardner and Moore.

O’Hara, who made an impressive debut, blasted over from the edge of the area and Moore’s diving header fizzed past the near post as England failed to engineer a breakthrough.

Pearce made a double switch on resumption with Tom Heaton coming on for Joe Hart between the posts and Gardner replaced by Grant Leadbitter.

The Sunderland midfielder almost made an immediate impact with a wonderfully whipped corner but Tyton beat Onuoha to the ball by a whisker.

Heaton made his own mark with a fingertip save to deny Majewski and with the game beginning to swing in the opposition’s favour, Pearce reacted with three more changes.

Scott Dann and Campbell came on for their first caps along with Matt Derbyshire, one of the most experienced players in the squad.

It was barely evident, however, as the Blackburn forward went into the referee’s book within moments of his introduction for a reckless foul on Piotr Polczak.

Hull’s on-loan Manchester United striker Campbell had a chance to add to his growing reputation with a quarter of an hour remaining when he stretched to meet O’Hara’s cross but the ball was deflected wide.

It was a frustrating end to the evening for Pearce’s team as the game drew to a conclusion at a whimper and the Poles could have even stole victory with five minutes remaining when Pawlowski pulled a shot narrowly past the post.