Report: England ELS 2-0 Romania

Written by:

Nicholas Veevers

England men’s Elite League Squad ended their September internationals with a 2-0 victory over Romania in Stockport.

Following on from last week’s draw with Turkiye in Istanbul, interim head coach Paul Nevin and his squad returned to home soil for their second game at Edgeley Park.

And a goal in each half for Oxford United’s on-loan striker Dane Scarlett and Sheffield United’s Louie Marsh proved enough to secure a deserved win for a dominant England.

The Young Lions enjoyed the majority of the possession and territorial advantage throughout, against a defensively solid team in Romania.

It was from a set-piece that England took the lead on the half-hour mark, as Kaide Gordon’s low corner picked out Scarlett in space and the captain did the rest by finishing from close range.

England’s control of the game continued after the break, and they managed to double their advantage with 15 minutes left to play as substitute Louie Marsh fired home in the box to give the scoreline a more representative feel of the way the game had gone.

But while chances for Romania were scarce, they did have an opportunity with five minutes remaining when Eduard Radaslavescu’s free-kick drew a fine save from ‘keeper Tommy Simkin.

The ELS squad will return to action in October when they face Czechia at home, with the date and venue for that game to be confirmed in due course.

England: 1 Tommy Simkin (Stoke City), 2 Kellen Fisher (Norwich City), 3 Calum Scanlon (Millwall, on loan from Liverpool), 4 Jacob Wright (Manchester City), 5 Max Alleyne (Manchester City), 6 Kaelan Casey (West Ham United), 7 Kaide Gordon (Norwich City, on loan from Liverpool, 8 Zach Nelson (Luton Town), 9 Dane Scarlett (Oxford United, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) (c ), 10 Dom Ballard (Blackpool, on loan from Southampton), 11 Emre Tezgel (Stoke City)

Substitutes: 17 Romain Esse (Millwall) for Tezgel 60, 21 Amario Cozier-Duberry (Blackburn Rovers, loan from Brighton & Hove Albion) for Gordon 70, 18 Louie Marsh (Sheffield United) for Ballard 70, 23 Sammy Braybrooke (Dundee, loan from Leicester City) for Scarlett 76, 16 Luke Chambers (Wigan Athletic, on loan from Liverpool) for Scanlon 76

Substitutes not used: 12 Reuell Walters (Luton Town), 13 Luca Gunter (Manchester City), 14 Ben Nelson (Oxford United, on loan from Lecester City), 15 Ashley Phillips (Stoke City, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), 19 Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), 20 Will Alves (Leicester City), 22 Ben Cisse (West Bromwich Albion)

Interim head coach: Paul Nevin

Goals: Dane Scarlett 30, Louie Marsh 76