Football: Youngsters' boost for Taylor

PETER TAYLOR was given a winning send-off in his last home match as the England Under-21 coach as his young charges overpowered Sweden here last night to move closer to clinching a place in the last 16 of the European Championship.

Two goals from Carl Cort and another from Richard Cresswell - both players who were making their Under-21 debuts - made it five wins out of five for England in Group Five.

Poland and Bulgaria drew 3-3 last night, which means England are now seven points clear in the group. Taylor will finish his successful three- year reign with qualification already guaranteed if the team wins in Bulgaria next Tuesday.

On the half-hour the Wimbledon striker Cort used his strength to bustle his way through the Swedish defence and fire home a stunning shot into the top left-hand corner.

It was followed by a close-range header just before the interval by the Sheffield Wednesday forward Cresswell for his first goal in the national colours.

England made certain of the points in the 80th minute when Cort scored his second. The Derby midfielder Seth Johnson fed Frank Lampard, whose cross into the box seemed to be going nowhere until Cort stuck out his right leg to deflect the ball past the goalkeeper Dime Jankulovski.

Taylor hopes the Football Association feel embarrassed over his impending dismissal after the Bulgaria match. In his 23 matches in charge, England have lost just four times, but more importantly in competitive games Taylor's side have won 11 and drawn three out of 15. It is a record, which if it had been in club football, would have led to a new contract rather than his departure.

Taylor emphasised that point when he said: "If I was to be honest, I think people have got new contracts on the strength of what I have done - yet I haven't got one. I could toe the line and say that's how it is, but I have to admit that I am very disappointed that I am not to be the long-term manager."

And when asked whether he felt the FA would be embarrassed over his departure, he replied: "I hope so."

The Welsh striker Leon Jeanne was the victim of a bizarre sending-off for waving his shirt over his head after scoring in last night's 6-2 Group One Under-21 defeat by Italy in Ferrera. The Queen's Park Rangers forward, making only his third appearance, scored his first goal for Wales in the 28th minute.

The Cardiff-born 18-year-old then set off on a celebration run along the touchline and took his shirt off - a la Ryan Giggs - to wave it above his head.

However, before the restart the Romanian referee Constantine Zotta, who had booked the former Arsenal youth player in the 14th minute for a foul, brandished a second yellow card and then a red. Despite protests from the Wales manager, Tom Whalley, the distraught teenager was led away in anguish to the dressing-room.

The Celtic striker Mark Burchill broke his scoring duck for the Scotland Under-21s to ensure the hosts lifted the President's Cup at the expense of their Northern Ireland counterparts in Inverness.

Burchill pounced after 38 minutes, turning cleverly to slot the ball beyond the reach of the Irish goalkeeper, David Wells. The goal cancelled out David Healy's 13th-minute penalty for Northern Ireland.