Boothroyd and his angry boys thrash out a win
IT all started with a row. In the dressing room at half-time, as England’s Euro 2017 ambitions hung in the balance, the jabbing fingers and raised voices planted the seeds of recovery.
Standing on the brink of elimination, after 45 dreadful minutes against Slovakia, something needed to change to reverse the deficit that Martin Chrien’s header had inflicted. Yet this was not a time for tactics, it was a time for home truths.
In that brief period of hullabaloo, the foundation for a comeback was laid. An hour later, England returned to their sanctuary again but this time the noise was born of relief and celebration. Thanks to goals from Alfie Mawson and Nathan Redmond, England are top of Group A after Sweden drew 2- 2 with Poland later on.
‘It got a little bit heated,’ said Mawson, the Swansea defender.
‘I was so frustrated about their goal. It was a sloppy goal. We were annoyed. We said we needed to man up and do the right thing.
‘Credit to us and we did what we needed to do. We don’t take it in a negative way. We could have crumbled at 1-0 down but we stood up and passed the test.’
They did so because they were brave and committed and refused to buckle, as other Under 21 squads have done in recent years. By the final whistle — when Aidy Boothroyd punched the air and shouted ‘ Yes!’ — England deserved the goals from Mawson and Redmond.
Before that, though, the word of the night should have been ‘No’.
When they were supposed to be dynamic, England dithered. When composure was needed, they became flustered. Even the simple things became difficult and the players looked frozen, almost terrified.
England were fragile and the ball was moved around aimlessly at the back with nobody wanting to take responsibility.
Slovakia’s aggression unsettled them and Chrien’s header which looped over Jordan Pickford looked set to give them a second win. For some reason, Boothroyd decided to bicker with the fourth official at the break rather than head straight down the tunnel to confront the crisis. He was, nonetheless, met by more arguing but did not add to the fire.
Instead he stayed calm and introduced Jacob Murphy — forMason Holgate — and the Norwich forward’s ability on the ball proved to be a potent weapon.
‘They were dropping so deep I thought in the second half we needed someone who was really attack-minded at right back,’ said Boothroyd, explaining his unusual switch.
‘Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. But thankfully this time it did as we scored off his cross.’
Within four minutes, England had hauled themselves off the floor. After John Swift won a corner, the ball ended up drifting to the far side of the box. Redmond rescued it and in turn picked out Murphy. His delivery was perfect and, at the second attempt, Mawson bundled home.
From nowhere, the Young Lions had the scent of blood. Slovakia began to shrink and by the hour mark, the game had been turned upside down. James WardProwse had spoken of his desire to inspire like Steven Gerrard and he produced a defencesplitting, 40-yard pass of which the Liverpool icon would have been proud.
The pass allowed Redmond to gallop away and he fizzed a rightfooted drive into the top corner without breaking stride.
The celebrations were exuberant, the relief almost tangible. From then on, England withstood the fightback and dug deep. More of the same is required against Poland on Thursday if they are to reach the last four.