Man Utd-bound Zaha puts troubles behind him with sparkling display for ... - Daily Mail

Thursday, March 21, 2013

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Man Utd-bound Zaha puts troubles behind him with sparkling display for ... - Daily Mail

PUBLISHED: 19:39 EST, 21 March 2013 | UPDATED: 20:31 EST, 21 March 2013

Wilfried Zaha put a bad week behind him to reward Stuart Pearce with a sparkling display after being cast in the unfamiliar role of lone striker.

The young Crystal Palace winger was banned and fined by the FA for making a rude gesture at Leeds fans two weeks ago.

After his first international goal, against Romania at Wycombe, Zaha said: â€˜I was hoping for a hat-trick tonight but just the one will do. I have been waiting for that goal for ages.â€™

Star player: Zaha put in a man-of-the-match performance against Romania

Great expectations have placed on Zahaâ€™s shoulders and he responded with an exhilarating display, dovetailing sweetly with Liverpoolâ€™s Raheem Sterling. It is a combination that England Under 21 coach Pearce hopes will wreak havoc at the European Championship finals this June.

Jack Robinson and Nathan Delfouneso completed the scoring for England in the second half to extend their winning run to a record eighth game. But it was the trickery, speed and understanding between Zaha and Sterling that livened up this contest.

All clever touches and subtle movement, each time Sterling or Zaha received the ball the expectation levels rose and they teamed up for the opening goal on 33 minutes. Sterling slipped the ball to Zaha, who jinked past two challenges and rifled the ball in from 20 yards.

After a tough week, the elation on his face was obvious.

Englandâ€™s superiority was confirmed in the second half when first Robinson and then Delfouneso put the gloss on a satisfying workout. They will be serious contenders in Israel.

Scorcher: Zaha scored a fantastic curler for his first U21 goal to make it 1-0 to England

MATCH FACTS

England U21: Butland (Steele 87), Clyne (Smith 74), Wisdom, Dawson, Rose (Robinson 46), Sterling (Sordell 64), Chalobah (Carroll 74), Shelvey, Henderson (Lowe 75), Lansbury (Delfouneso 7), Zaha (Wickham 88).

Goals: Zaha 34,Robinson 61,Delfouneso 88.

Romania U21: Branescu, Nica (Iordache 78), Avramia (Marc 90), Leca (Vastag 89), Cretu, Serediuc (Manole 46), Tosca (Peteleu 69), Benzar (Carstocea 46), Iancu (Morar 68), Stanciu, Gavra (Herghelegiu 68).

Subs Not Used: Buzbuchi.

Booked: Nica.

Att: 6,354

Ref: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium)

England Under-21s coach Brian Eastick heaped praise on Wilfried Zaha after his man-of-the-match performance against Romania.

The 20-year-old scored his first goal for the Young Lions in some style this evening, curling home after ghosting past a number of defenders.

Zaha's goal kicked off a 3-0 win against an admittedly poor Romanian side, who struggled to cope with the attacker at Wycombe's Adams Park.

The Crystal Palace man's strike was complemented by efforts from substitutes Jack Robinson and Nathan Delfouneso in Buckinghamshire, although there was only one star of the show.

'He is a very talented player and everybody knows that,' coach Eastick, speaking instead of manager Stuart Pearce, said of Zaha.

'Obviously playing up front again tonight like he did against Sweden has given us another option.

'I thought the front three players and Jonjo Shelvey playing in behind them were very fluent tonight.

'Even though Romania had 10 or 11 players behind the ball, we caused them quite a few problems.'

Zaha is spending the rest of the season in the Championship with Palace, before linking up with Manchester United in the summer.

Predominantly used as a winger, he was deployed as a lone frontman tonight and put in a far more assured performance in the role than against Sweden last month.

'He plays wide for Crystal Palace and it is slightly different role we are asking him to do,' Eastick said.

Goal: Jack Robinson scored England's second goal by latching on to a cross from Jonjo Shelvey

'Obviously in terms of international football, you need that flexibility. We don't want to be too mechanic, too robotic when we have possession of the ball.

'Having someone like Wilfried helps as he can play wide and he showed tonight can be really effective in those forward areas.

'I thought Jonjo Shelvey's performance tonight was really outstanding.

'I though when Wilfried came short into those pockets of space, Jonjo picked his timing of the runs really well and the movement from those two players was excellent.

'And of course the wide players were excellent as well so it has certainly given Stuart some options for Monday and also for the finals.'

Zaha and Shelvey look certainties for Pearce's squad for the European Championships in Israel this summer, although some other spots are still up for grabs.

Clinical: Nathan Delfouneso's close-range finish rounded off a comfortable win at Adams Park

The team play their final game on home soil ahead of the tournament against Austria on Monday and Eastick wants a similar level of performance to tonight.

'It was comfortable,' Eastick said. 'I thought we played some really excellent football. We had a lot of possession of the ball and I thought early on they tried to press us, but with the quality of our football they dropped off and defended very deep.

'Sometimes when teams bank up against you like that, it is not always easy.

'But I thought some of the quality of football was outstanding and it was a very pleasing performance.

'It has given Stuart the opportunity to look at a variety of players.

'I think in his own mind he is pretty sure of who 16 or 17 of the core group will be for Israel, but there are obviously still a few places up for grabs.

'It is an opportunity for players tonight and on Monday against Austria to try to grab some of those players.

'Let's hope he has a selection problem and we perform like that again.'