England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report

The administrators of the Football Association may well have exerted more energy this week in forcing Fifa's poppy concession than was required last night for the England Under-21s to dispatch Iceland.

An utterly emphatic 5-0 victory was ultimately capped by two wonderful goals in the last two minutes from Aston Villa midfielder Gary Gardner, who had only been introduced as a second-half substitute.

Before that, England had dominated a feeble Iceland team to take another purposeful stride towards the 2013 European Championships.

Stuart Pearce's team have now begun their qualification campaign with four straight victories and have already established a five-point buffer at the top of Group 8. There was caution, though, from Pearce.

"I don't do complacency very well," he said. "It is my fourth campaign and I'm acutely aware of what it will take. All the major powers have 100 per cent records and, if we get to the play-offs, there will be tough opposition. In the finals, it would be even tougher."

With such FA focus this week on Remembrance Sunday, there was something appropriate about Colchester being the venue for last night's game. Troops from the garrison town formed a guard of honour for both sets of players, who emerged for the national anthem with poppies proudly stitched into their tracksuit jackets.

A sell-out crowd of 10,051 then perfectly observed a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands - complete with stitched-in poppies - for the match. It must have been a frantic 24-hours for the England kit manufacturer but the on-field challenge was all-together more straightforward.

The most persistent tormentor was again Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had scored a hat-trick when England were 3-0 winners last month in Reykjavik during the corresponding fixture. His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott.

He carved out England’s first clear chance, cutting in from the right before narrowly dragging his shot wide from an acute angle.

England, though, spurned further opportunities before taking the lead in the 39th minute. Marvin Sordell brings considerable energy to any team and released Jordan Henderson before sprinting into the penalty area to convert the return pass. The only negative from a comfortable first-half was the sight of Aston Villa’s Nathan Delfouneso being withdrawn with a tight hamstring after only 11 minutes.

His replacement, Sammy Ameobi, made a good impression on his Under-21 debut and created an outstanding second-half chance for Henderson.

Oxlade-Chamberlain could also have put England further ahead but, after skillfully rounding Iceland goalkeeper Arnar Petursson, he just overran possession. No matter. Liverpool’s Martin Kelly then rode several challenges and finished with power before Craig Dawson’s scored his fourth goal in five England Under-21 appearances with a looping header.

With the fourth official preparing to signal that 90 minutes had elapsed, Gardner curled a delightful free-kick into the top corner and, from the next attack, smashed his finish past Petursson to give the scoreline a gloss that accurately reflected England’s superiority.

Match details:

England (4-3-3): Butland (Cheltenham); Smith (MK Dons), Kelly (Liverpool), Dawson (West Brom), Clyne (Crystal Palace); Lowe (Blackburn), Henderson (Liverpool), McEachran (Chelsea); Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Sordell (Watford), Delfouneso (Aston Villa).
Substitutes: Sa Ameobi (Newcastle) for Delfouneso 11, Gardner (Aston Villa) for Lowe 61, Keane (Manchester Utd) for McEachran 76. Not used: Amos (Manchester Utd, g), Dunk (Brighton), Butterfield (Barnsley), Carroll (Tottenham).

Iceland (4-1-4-1): Petursson; Eyjolfsson, Sigurbjornsson, (H Magnusson 75), Snorrason, Jonsson; Margeirsson (Thorarinsson 69); Laxdal, Palsson, Sverisson (Bodvarsson 52), Gudmunsson; Johannsson.
Substitutes: A T Magnusson (g), Sigurjonsson, Valdimarsson, Steindorsson. Booked: Palsson.

Referee: P Radovanovic (Montenegro).