Tottenham Hotspur youngster and former Leyton Orient loanee Harry Kane an unused substitute as England suffer Greek defeat in European Championships

Harry Kane was an unused substitute today. Picture: Action Images Harry Kane was an unused substitute today. Picture: Action Images

Spurs youngster Harry Kane was an unused substitute as England Under-19s exited the European Championships following a 2-1 extra time loss to Greece.

The Young Lions had enjoyed victory over France earlier this week to book a semi final clash with the Greeks but the ten-man opposition proved to strong as they advanced to the final.

England were the dominant force for much of the contest but they were facing a resolute Greek defence who they were unable to break down.

Greece enjoyed the better of the chances as the first half wore on and they finally established a lead after 38 minutes when Mavroudis Bougaidis headed home a corner.

The first half ended in dramatic fashion as the Greeks were reduced to ten men. Keeper Stefanos Kapino was shown his marching orders for bringing down Benik Afobe.

Rob Hall failed to convert the penalty though as England headed for the break a goal down.

They were back on level terms just before the hour mark however, as Hall’s cross caused confusion and allowed Afobe to head in.

Noel Blake’s side pushed for a winner but with the Greeks proving resolute at the back, the game headed for extra time.

And it was heartbreak for England as in the 108th minute, a misunderstanding between Nat Chalobah and George Thorne allowed Charalambos Lykogiannis to advance with the ball and lob Sam Johnstone to see the Greeks through and leave the Young Lions to head home.

Comments(1)

davspurs says...
6:27pm Thu 12 Jul 12

I sat watching this game thinking how the hell can Blake leave Kane benched. This shows until we get the right coaches in the England set up we will struggle the slow build up by England meant the Creeks where back in numbers. This played into ten man Creece. I would sack Blake for leaving one of the star players against France idle when it was crying out for a goal. The same thing happened in the seniors with Defoe who came back from is Fathers buriel for nothing. We need to sack Roy Pierce and Blake and install Better technically minded coaches or keep failing i hope for Blakes sake Kane was injured

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