Report: England MU17s 2-0 Poland

England men’s under-17s continued their UEFA U17 EURO first qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over Poland at St George's Park.

Josh Blake’s superb curling effort in the first half and Joshua Abe’s late strike were enough for all three points as the Young Lions impressed on home soil.

England had the majority of the opportunities in the first period but were up against a stubborn Polish defence.

Their first chance fell to Blake, who looked lively throughout. A superb piece of link-up between Blake and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli allowed the former to cut inside, but he fired high and wide of Franciszek Golanski’s far post.

In the 14th minute, Golanski was called into action again, this time after Nicoll-Jazuli shot from close range following good interchange between Blake and Samuel O’Brien.

Despite having less of the ball, Poland did create several opportunities themselves. The first fell to Franciszek Stepniewski, whose ambitious effort from inside his own half went just wide of Mikel Jack’s near post.

Bartosz Kowalski had his side’s best chance and if not for Emmanuel Fejokwu’s superb block, may have found the back of the net with a powerful half-volley.

However, the Young Lions would go into the interval with a deserved lead. Blake took the ball down England’s left-hand side in the 33rd minute and eventually cut inside before he bent an effort past Golanski.

Barry Lewtas’ side continued to probe for the goal that would double their advantage after the break. Xavier Parker was the next to test Golanski with a driven shot from inside the penalty area.

Just after the hour mark, Vinny Joseph had a golden opportunity to net a second goal but flashed an effort over the crossbar.

This came moments after Stepniewski fired over himself after a Poland free-kick was only cleared to the edge of the box.

Despite a flurry of late Poland chances, with Jack making a smart save from close range, England sealed the three points with just under ten minutes to go as substitute Abe’s precise finish found the bottom corner.

The win leaves England unbeaten at the top of qualifying Group 9 after two games, following their 6-1 opening victory against Montenegro.

Lewtas’ side will host Ukraine in their final game of the international window on Tuesday 17 November at 18:30 GMT.

England: 1 Mikel Jack (Tottenham Hotspur), 3 Samuel O’Brien (Manchester United), 4 Josh Henry (Chelsea), 5 Emmanuel Fejokwu (Club Brugge), 6 Reggie Watson (Chelsea), 8 Xavier Parker (Manchester City), 9 Vincent Joseph (Arsenal), 11 Oscar Johnson (Aston Villa), 12 Theo Carrington (Manchester City), 18 Josh Blake (Aston Villa)

Substitutes: Joshua Abe (Liverpool) for Blake 72’, 19 Mylo Bernard (Arsenal) for Joseph 72’, 14 Ayden Minto-St Aimie (Charlton Athletic) for Carrington 85’, 16 Kwasi Senyah (Tottenham Hotspur) for Parker 85’,15 Noah Smith (Manchester City) for Fejokwu 88’

Unused Substitutes: 13 Lucca Benetton (Crystal Palace), 2 George Jobling (Tottenham Hotspur), 7 Darren Motsi (Manchester City), 20 David Eze (Manchester United)

Head Coach: Barry Lewtas

Goals: Blake 33’, Abe 83’