Video: Ravel Morrison and Wilfried Zaha clash during England Under-21s victory over Lithuania Under-21s

Morrison was incensed that he was not allowed to take a penalty to complete his hat-trick, leading to Zaha confronting the West Ham forward

Jack de Menezes
Thursday 17 October 2013 06:02 EDT
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Wilfried Zaha (L) and Ravel Morrison (R) clash after the latter is furious over not being allowed to take a penalty to complete his hat-trick
Wilfried Zaha (L) and Ravel Morrison (R) clash after the latter is furious over not being allowed to take a penalty to complete his hat-trick (Youtube)

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England beat Poland 2-0 at Wembley to book their place in next summer’s World Cup, while the Under-21 side went out and smashed Lithuania 5-0 thanks to yet another dominating performance from Ravel Morrison. So what could have possibly gone wrong?

Having scored twice, Morrison was on a roll. However, when Gareth Southgate’s side were awarded a penalty, West Brom striker Saido Berahino converted from the spot to score his second of the night, and leave an incensed Morrison questioning why he wasn’t allowed to complete his hat-trick.

After an ensuing free-kick which was headed wide by John Stones, Manchester United winger Wilfried Zaha confronted the angered West Ham forward, and the two began to push and shove each other as they argued.

With flashbacks of the clash between Lee Bowyer and Kieran Dyer while the two were at Newcastle, Morrison shoved his hand into the face of Zaha, infuriating the 20-year-old and triggering a scuffle between the two.

Substitute Nathan Redmond acted quickly to diffuse the situation, splitting apart the pair before dragging Zaha away as the two continued to bicker. Thankfully, neither was sent off and England went top of their European Championship Under-21 group, with Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse scoring a free-kick to round out the scoring.

After the match, Morrison decided not to dwell on the confrontation with his team-mate, although his attempts at remembering one of his goals – yet another brilliant run from deep in midfield – wasn’t much better.

“I can't remember it, I've not seen it back yet to be honest,” said Morrison.

“I just thought I might as well drive it in because I drove it in before when I should have got my shot off but it got intercepted.

“I thought I might as well chance this one and try and break through the lines and that's what I did.”

Morrison and Zaha could be reunited in November when the Under-21s take on Finland and San Marino as their qualification campaign continues, and it appears Southgate has his first problematic confrontation to resolve of his young-England managerial career.

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