WE DIDN’T DO ENOUGH
FROM BACK PAGE Johnston. But they allowed a golden chance to reach the Toulon final against Mexico slip through their fingers after the interval by conceding three goals.
Everton’s Callum Connolly equalised before red-hot Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah bagged a double to knock Scotland out of the tournament.
Gemmill’s boys now face a 3rd/4th place playoff tie against Turkey on Saturday in a bid to equal their achievement of 12 months ago.
Last year England hammered them 3-0 in the last four and Gemmill says we’ve improved since then.
But he also accepts the players can’t afford to drop their performance levels after going a goal up like they did in Aubagne.
Gemmill said: “The players know the second half wasn’t good enough.
“Young players can be inconsistent at this level because they are still learning to play, especially against a very good side like England.
“You have to credit them for their reaction after the break.
“But for us, we didn’t do enough. We knew we would have to contain them for the whole game.
“We were excellent in the first half. It’s very difficult to do that for a full game but we were close to executing our game plan.
“It’s fine margins and when you play a top team you get punished.
“We had several chances in the first half and we played so well but were only 1-0 up. In the second we have to accept we have come up short. To concede three goals is extremely disappointing.
“England have lots of players who play at the top level but so did France.
“Last year we came up very short in the semifinal. This year there is a lot to be positive about because of the first half performance. We really pushed England. There’s a lot to be proud about.
“To top a Group featuring France and teams from Africa and Asia is a fantastic achievement and it’s not over yet because we’ll be going all out to beat Turkey.”
England U-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd praised the Scots’ effort and feared they’d be knocked out by Johnston’s goal.
He said: “Scotland always play with their hearts and are always tough opposition.
“When Johnston went through and scored that fantastic goal I thought, ‘Here we go, we’re going to lose 1-0’.
“But we were patient and a lot better in the second half. Scotland gave their all but in the end our quality shone through and we deserved it.”