Carson 'happy with a point'

Goalkeeper Scott Carson felt it was a point gained rather two points lost for England in their Group B opener against the Czech Republic despite Leroy Lita dragging a late penalty wide in the goalless draw in Arnhem.

Ideal preparation
England were expectant going into their first UEFA European Under-21 Championship fixture after concluding their preparations for the finals with a 5-0 victory against Slovakia a week ago, yet found their neighbours a much tougher prospect in Arnhem. Nonetheless, Stuart Pearce's side looked set for victory when Roman Hubník handled in the area in the 88th minute, only for Reading FC forward Lita to clip his spot-kick against the outside of the post. "I think we've got to be happy with a point but we all wanted to get off to a good start and get three points under our belt," Carson, 21, told uefa.com.

Stunning save
"The Czechs came here and they set out their stall early, were well organised and you've got to give credit to them as they did what they set out to do. Defensively I'm happy with a clean sheet - if I can get two more in the group I think that will be us in the semi-finals so hopefully I can keep Italy out on Thursday." Carson was largely a spectator at the Gelredome, yet underlined his ability - he travelled to the FIFA World Cup with England last summer - with a stunning one-handed save to prevent Daniel Pudil's 64th-minute free-kick from dipping into the top corner. "It was nice to get a touch and see it come back off the woodwork," said the Liverpool FC man.

'Great game'
Carson knows he could be in for a busier night against Italy, particularly as the Azzurrini lost their opener 1-0 to Serbia last night: "It will be a great game for the neutrals and that's what this tournament is all about - big nations meeting each other. Hopefully we can put a good performance in and get the three points."