Serbia U21 0 England U21 1 (agg 0-2): Mass brawl and racist chanting mars Young Lions' victory
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UPDATED:
19:59 GMT, 16 October 2012
England Under 21s claimed their place at Euro 2013 amid unsavoury scenes during their qualifying play-off in Serbia.
Players appeared to be pelted with missiles after Connor Wickham struck in injury time of the second leg to book England's trip to next summer's finals in Israel.
Supporters came onto the field, scuffles broke out and England's Danny Rose was sent off after the final whistle. He reacted angrily by kicking away the ball and appeared to indicate he had been racially abused as he left the pitch.
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Brawl: Violent scenes marred the end of what was a great night for the Under 21s
Match facts
Serbia Under 21: Aleksic, Kosanovic, Medojevic, Gudelj, Rodic, Causic, Lazovic (Malbasic 59), Milivojevic, Ninkovic (Markovic 74), Kojic (Despotovic 59), Mudrinski.
Subs not used: Kirovski, Petkovic, Milunovic, Jojic.
Booked: Kojic, Gudelj, Medojevic, Milivojevic.
England Under 21: Butland, Smith, Dawson, Caulker, Rose, Zaha (Sterling 76), Lowe, Henderson, Ince, Sordell (Lees 62), Delfouneso (Wickham 89).
Subs not used: Amos, Bennett, McEachran, Townsend.
Sent off: Rose (90).
Booked: Rose,Caulker,Smith,Zaha,Delfouneso.
Goal: Wickham 90.
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Huseyin Gocek (Turkey).
Steve Wigley, one of the England coaching staff, also appeared to become caught up in the trouble as the players left the field.
The ugly scenes overshadowed another fine display of defensive resilience from England.
Stuart Pearce's men recorded a sixth
clean sheet in seven outings to hold out the Serbs on a wet and windy
night at the Mladost Stadium in Krusevac.
Marvin Sordell hit the post early on
but, until Wickham came off the bench to stroke into an empty net late
on, the game was largely about England's defensive effort.
Serbia had shown from the outset they
intended to be more positive than they were in Norwich last week and,
with Nikola Ninkovic coming into the side, they had a much greater
cutting edge.
But it was England who had the first serious opportunity as Sordell hit the woodwork after nine minutes.
Captain Jordan Henderson found the
Bolton forward with a superb through-ball but Sordell cracked his shot
against the near post after neatly cutting inside Slobodan Medojevic to
create space 12 yards out.
Targeted: Rose reacts to gestures from the crowd after being handed his marching orders
Serbia goalkeeper Branimir Aleksic
looked uncertain throughout but escaped punishment after spilling a
Henderson corner and was then fortunate to earn a free-kick as Craig
Dawson jumped to reach a Wilfried Zaha free-kick.
The hosts showed their danger as
Nemanja Kojic found space down the right and pulled the ball back for
the livewire Ninkovic, who shot tamely at Jack Butland.
Luka Milivojevic flashed a volley wide after a Nemanja Gudelj throw-in was only partly cleared by Steven Caulker.
Heads up: Rose and Caulker both played their part on a evening in Krusevac
Serbia went closer as Henderson's
headed clearance from Darko Lazovic's free-kick found its way to
Ninkovic at the far post but his shot went across goal and wide.
Aleksic had another lucky escape as
Dawson beat him to a Rose free-kick on the edge of the area but the
England defender could not keep his header on target.
Lazovic found room on the edge of the
England box but his attempt to curl a shot into the top corner was
easily dealt with by Butland.
Victory! England players celebrate their winner, moments before the ugly scenes unfolded
After a brief hold-up when one of
several flares lit by Serbian fans found its way into Aleksic's goal
area, the hosts continued to press as Ninkovic beat Adam Smith but fired
wide from distance.
Further efforts came in from Kojic and Milivojevic as Serbia ended the first half on top but Butland was not tested.
England had a scare early in the
second period as Kojic broke clear but Smith got back well to cut him
off and was harshly booked for his trouble.
Ninkovic went close again after the ball fell to him outside the area but his swirling effort was well pushed put by Butland.
Spot on: Dawson scored the winner for England in the first leg at Carrow Road
Ninkovic turned provider as he picked
out Filip Malbasic with a fine ball but England were relieved to see the
substitute flagged offside after Ognjen Mudrinski took a needless
touch.
Thomas Ince broke clear as England
mounted a rare attack but Zaha stumbled as he latched onto his cross and
was bemused to be booked for diving.
Aleksic went forward as Serbia had a
late chance from a free-kick but England broke away through Ince, who
slid in Wickham, prompting the mayhem that followed.
Roaring success: The Young Lions are through to the Euro 2013 finals in Israel next summer
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