James McAtee’s double saw England claim a 2-1 victory over Ukraine in their European U21 Championship qualifier at the Vitality Stadium.
Taras Mykhavko opened the scoring from a corner in the 70th minute for the away side before McAtee’s free-kick and added-time winner saw Ben Futcher’s men take the points.
The result saw second-place England close the gap on their opponents to two points at the top of Group F.
England squandered a golden chance after 20 minutes when Ipswich’s Liam Delap hounded Ukraine keeper Ruslan Neshcheret into a mistake, with the loose ball finding McAtee whose powerful effort was stopped.
The Young Lions struggled throughout the first half, becoming frustrated by Ukraine’s press as they tried to play out from the back.
England’s Lewis Hall and Ukraine’s Nazar Voloshyn battle for the ball
Lewis Hall made a smart run down the left but despite Omari Hutchinson’s evasive movement, his first-time effort flew over the crossbar.
Delap looked to continue his rich vein of form from the Premier League after being played in by McAtee but the striker’s effort clipped the crossbar.
England improved after the break but they still failed to break the deadlock as Jaden Philogene blasted an effort straight at Neshcheret.
The hosts were punished for their poor finishing in the 70th minute when Ukraine took the lead. A whipped corner to the back post was misjudged by goalkeeper James Trafford as Mykhavko jumped highest and nodded in the opener.
McAtee’s persistence paid off as his free-kick on the edge of the area cannoned off the bar and in before he slammed home a loose ball to steal the points.
