Young lions sweep past Macedonia

England Under-21s secured a crucial 6-3 victory over Macedonia in a breathless encounter which saw Theo Walcott substituted at half-time with a dead leg.

The Arsenal forward, whose participation for the Under-21s has been a bone of contention for Arsene Wenger in the past, was making only his second appearance since returning from a lower back injury.

And his latest injury, albeit a minor one, may cause a small amount of further unrest at the Emirates, although Walcott's potential inclusion for the senior squad's clash against Belarus next Wednesday is now very much in doubt.

A 20,074 crowd at the Ricoh Arena were treated to a thrilling European Championship qualifier as England were made to work hard for their three Group Nine points.

Kieran Gibbs and Micah Richards put England in control before Muarem Muarem made it 2-1 at the interval.

But a blistering start to the second half saw Macedonia make it 3-3 in the space of six minutes through Agim Ibraimi and a Gibbs own goal, with Andy Carroll netting for England.

But, despite a fair share of nerves, Stuart Pearce's charges triumphed courtesy of another from Carroll and a brace from substitute Zavon Hines - on his debut.