Match ends, England U21 1, Belarus U21 0.
England U21England U211Belarus U21Belarus U210
England Under-21s warmed up for the European Under-21 Championship by beating 10-man Belarus 1-0 at Oakwell.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 82nd minute when Mikalai Zolatau was shown his second yellow card.
From the resulting set piece, goalkeeper Uladzislau Vasiliuchak could not hold Luke Garbutt's free-kick and Ben Gibson converted from close range.
The competition in the Czech Republic starts on Wednesday with England in a group with Portugal, Sweden and Italy.
England have won the Under-21 tournament twice, but not since 1984, although Gareth Southgate's side are in good form and have now won 14 of their last 15 matches.
They begin their campaign against Portugal on 18 June and will face a tougher test than they faced against a resilient, but limited, Belarus team.
The away side's preparations were harmed as their team coach was held up in traffic on the M1, causing a 35-minute delay to the start of the game.
| England's European U-21 Championship fixtures | ||
|---|---|---|
| 18 June v Portugal | 21 June v Sweden | 24 June v Italy |
When play got under way, England dominated as Gibson headed wide before Vasiliuchak saved efforts from Saido Berahino, Nathan Redmond and Garbutt.
But Zolatau's second booking, which came after a foul on England Under-21 debutant Ruben Loftus-Cheek, led to the free-kick and England's winning goal.
Garbutt's free-kick was not dealt with by Vasiliuchak and Middlesbrough defender Gibson scored for his first Under-21 goal.
England Under-21 manager Gareth Southgate said:
"It was a really good test for us. They were very spirited, defensive and resilient. It was a perfect match for us.
"We moved the ball well, created chances but at times the final pass was not there. But I'm really pleased with the build-up we have had.
"We're really looking forward to the challenge. There's a huge motivation in the dressing room to do well and we have another gear to go up to."
Line-ups
England U21
Formation 4-3-3
- 1ButlandSubstituted forBondat 69'minutes
- 2Jenkinson
- 5StonesSubstituted forChambersat 45'minutes
- 6Gibson
- 3GarbuttBooked at 77mins
- 8Ward-ProwseSubstituted forChalobahat 69'minutes
- 10CarrollSubstituted forForster-Caskeyat 69'minutes
- 19HughesSubstituted forLoftus-Cheekat 45'minutes
- 11RedmondSubstituted forIngsat 60'minutes
- 18BerahinoSubstituted forKaneat 59'minutes
- 7PritchardSubstituted forLingardat 69'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Forster-Caskey
- 9Kane
- 12Bond
- 13Bettinelli
- 14Chalobah
- 15Keane
- 16Lingard
- 17Ings
- 20Moore
- 21Chambers
- 22Targett
- 23Loftus-Cheek
Belarus U21
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Vasilyuchek
- 16Karpovich
- 3Ignatenko
- 20Poznyak
- 6ZolotovBooked at 82mins
- 9LeshkaSubstituted forEvdokimovat 45'minutes
- 8KorzunSubstituted forPavlyunkovetsat 86'minutes
- 5Yablonski
- 11YarotskiSubstituted forShibunat 64'minutesSubstituted forBaidukat 86'minutes
- 7YanchenkoBooked at 71minsSubstituted forKlimovichat 76'minutes
- 10LebedevSubstituted forMilevskiat 64'minutes
Substitutes
- 12Chichkan
- 14Evdokimov
- 15Klimovich
- 17Shibun
- 18Pavlyunkovets
- 19Baiduk
- 21Milevski
- Referee:
- Jonathan Lardot
- Attendance:
- 15,207
Match Stats
Home TeamEngland U21Away TeamBelarus U21
- Possession
- Home75%
- Away25%
- Shots
- Home20
- Away6
- Shots on Target
- Home7
- Away1
- Corners
- Home12
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away11
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, England U21 1, Belarus U21 0.
Post update
Attempt missed. Danny Ings (England U21) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jesse Lingard with a cross following a corner.
Post update
Corner, England U21. Conceded by Vladislav Vasilyuchek.
Post update
Attempt saved. Danny Ings (England U21) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Harry Kane with a through ball.
Post update
Attempt missed. Harry Kane (England U21) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Nathaniel Chalobah.
Substitution
Substitution, Belarus U21. Yuri Pavlyunkovets replaces Nikita Korzun.
Substitution
Substitution, Belarus U21. Dmitri Baiduk replaces Mikhail Shibun.
Post update
Jake Forster-Caskey (England U21) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Evgeni Yablonski (Belarus U21).
Goal!
Goal! England U21 1, Belarus U21 0. Ben Gibson (England U21) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the high centre of the goal following a set piece situation.
Post update
Attempt saved. Luke Garbutt (England U21) left footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right is saved in the bottom right corner.
Dismissal
Second yellow card to Nikolai Zolotov (Belarus U21) for a bad foul.
Post update
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (England U21) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Foul by Nikolai Zolotov (Belarus U21).
Post update
Attempt saved. Evgeni Yablonski (Belarus U21) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Oleg Evdokimov.
Post update
Corner, England U21. Conceded by Aleksandr Poznyak.
Post update
Attempt missed. Mikhail Shibun (Belarus U21) right footed shot from long range on the left misses to the left.
Booking
Luke Garbutt (England U21) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Luke Garbutt (England U21).
