James McAtee’s double saw England claim a 2-1 win over Ukraine in a European U21 Championship qualifier at the Vitality Stadium.
Taras Mykhavko opened the scoring for the visitors from a corner in the 70th minute and McAtee’s free-kick and injury-time winner saw Ben Futcher’s men score.
As a result, second-place England narrowed the gap to two points at the top of Group F.
England took the lead after 20 minutes when Ipswich’s Liam Delap forced Ukraine goalkeeper Ruslan Neshcheret into a mistake and McAtee’s powerful shot was blocked and the loose ball was blocked. He threw away a golden opportunity.
The Young Lions struggled throughout the first half and were frustrated by Ukraine’s pressure as they attempted to play out from the back.
England’s Lewis Hall and Ukraine’s Nazar Voloshyn compete for the ball.
Lewis Hall made a clever run from the left flank but his first-time effort went over the crossbar despite an evasive move from Omari Hutchinson.
Delap looked to continue his rich run of form in the Premier League after playing alongside McAtee, but the striker’s effort clipped the crossbar.
England improved after the first half but still failed to break the deadlock when Jayden Philogen fired straight at Neshcheret.
The host was punished for a poor finish after Ukraine scored the first goal in the 70th minute. A corner kick destined for the back post was misjudged by goalkeeper James Trafford as Mikavko jumped highest and nodded in the opener.
McAtee’s tenacity was such that when a free-kick from the edge of the area hit the bar and into the net, he struck the loose ball to steal the points.
