Balde equaliser denies England

By Andrew Haslam at The Oval

Abdoulaye Balde's first-half equaliser cancelled out Matthew Fryatt's early effort and earned France a draw against England in the first match of the 2004/05 UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals.

Rapid response
Martin Hunter's England side carved out an initial advantage in the Group B fixture in Belfast thanks to Fryatt's composed finish, but the lead lasted only ten minutes as Amiens SC forward Balde sprang the offside trap to drill in. Both teams had chances to capture all three points, but ultimately had to make do with one.

French threat
England lined up in a 4-3-3 formation while France, in the absence of suspended trio Vassiriki Diaby, Yohan Cabaye and Franck Dja Djedje and with coach Jean Gallice beginning a two-match touchline ban, kicked off with a more conservative 3-5-2. In spite of that, it was the French who threatened first, Yohan Gouffran racing on to a long ball over the top of the English defence, but shooting weakly at David Martin.

Well-worked opener
Instead, the breakthrough came at the other end, England going ahead in the ninth minute. Captain Martin Cranie brought the ball out of defence and found Grant Leadbitter, whose through-ball set Fryatt clear. The striker kept his head to round onrushing goalkeeper Hugo Lloris just outside the area and roll into the unguarded net.

Drilled finish
Ryan Jarvis might have doubled up moments later but instead France drew level midway through the first half. Again a high ball over the defence caused the problems, Didier Digard providing the pass for Balde to race clear and thump a low shot beyond Martin. After the early excitement, clear chances proved harder to come by, although Yohan Gourcuff's deep right-wing free-kick found Mohamed Chakouri unmarked and the defender headed straight at Martin.

Crucial intervention
The second period started in a similar vein, with Gourcuff sending a low drive just wide. France looked the more likely scorers and almost secured the initiative with 19 minutes remaining as Gourcuff got the better of Tony McMahon and cut the ball back for Balde, but Cranie reacted smartly to make a brave block.

Wednesday fixtures
Neither side could fashion a winner in the closing stages, leaving both to look for their first victories in the section on Wednesday. England meet Armenia in Ballymena, while Norway, 2-0 winners against the Armenians today, are France's next opposition at Windsor Park.