Onomah lights England fire
IF JOSH ONOMAH never scores another goal in his career, he will always have this one to treasure. The Tottenham midfielder, who is on loan at Aston Villa, is not a player who does his best work deep behind enemy lines. He scuffles and he tackles and he tries to keep his team ticking with economical passing. But in the 13th minute, a loose ball dropped to Onomah 25 yards out; he could have laid it off but, sensing an opportunity, he steadied himself with chest control before flicking an exquisite dipping strike into the top corner. From that remarkable moment, England were never going to lose this Battle of Britain. They were infinitely better than a Scotland side who showed little ambition and the only question was how big the margin of victory would be. Onomah’s daring and confidence changed the mood and laid the foundations for England to take charge of Group E. Aidy Boothroyd, the Under 21 head coach, had been braced for a difficult evening, given that Scotland beat Holland last month, four days after England clung on for a draw against the Dutch. His fears were misplaced. England pinned Scotland into their own half for long periods and they could easily have equalled their 6-0 demolition of the Scots in August 2013. Onomah provided the glitter but Boothroyd will be wondering how Tammy Abraham, the Chelsea striker on loan at Swansea, never headed back to camp with the match ball. Abraham hit the woodwork following a superb cross from Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the 18th minute and saw Scotland defender Liam Smith block another effort on the line. Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook and Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke also went close before Abraham converted a 49th-minute penalty after he had been tripped. England let Scotland back into the game in the 78th minute when Chris Cadden punished lax marking but, in the next attack, Solanke made sure of the points, finishing a move that was started, fittingly, by Onomah.
ENGLAND U21 (4-2-3-1) Gunn 6; Alexander-Arnold 7.5, Gomez 7, Fry 6, Walker-Peters 7.5; Cook 6.5, ONOMAH 8; Gray 6.5 (Kenny 70min, 6), Solanke 7 (Lookman 83), Calvert-Lewin 6; Abraham 7. Subs not used: Woodman, Dowell, Davies, Tomori, Harrison.
Scorers: Onomah 14, Abraham 49 pen, Solanke 79. SCOTLAND U21 (4-3-3): Fulton 7; Smith 6, Souttar 5, McKenna 5, Taylor 6; Campbell 5, Mallan 6, Cadden 7; Morgan 5, Burke 5 (McBurnie 46, 6), Thomas 5 (Williamson 67, 6). Subs not used: Ruddy, Kerr, Docherty, Miller, McCrorie. Scorer: Cadden 78. Referee: Juan Martinez (Spain) 6. Attendance: 20,126.