England U21 4 Andorra U21 1: Watch Jacob Ramsey emulate his Villa boss Steven Gerrard with thunderbolt for Young Lions
JACOB RAMSEY has already been compared to Steven Gerrard - and the way he blasted home England’s second here was very reminiscent of his club boss in his pomp.
The Aston Villa youngster fired home the sweetest of strikes from 23 yards to add to Flo Balogun’s early opener.
It had all the hallmarks of a classic hit in Liverpool or Three Lions colours from Gerrard, who only last month tipped Ramsey for a senior call-up.
A strong performance against minnows Andorra is unlikely to tip the balance for Ramsey, but it could not hurt either.
He impressed along with the electric Harvey Elliott in an emphatic win which was added to with second-half efforts from Morgan Gibbs-White and sub Anthony Gordon.
The only blemish was conceding an outstanding solo goal from Albert Rosas but overall it was a very satisfying night down in Bournemouth.
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Yet boss Lee Carsley was left wanting even more from his young side.
He said: “I thought it was an OK performance. I thought we played really well at times, getting the four goals. We created a lot of chances.
“I’d love to see us be a bit more clinical and 4-1 maybe flattered them a little bit. I want them to be ruthless in front of goal and stinginess defending the goal.”
England had suffered a blow earlier in the day with Brighton star Tariq Lamptey pulling out through illness.
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But Tino Livramento was a more than able deputy and may well have started anyway.
It was the Southampton right-back who teed up the opener, squaring for Balogun to flick home after a clever exchange with Elliott down the right.
The only surprise after that was how long it took for the Young Lions to double the score as Noni Madueke, Luke Thomas and Gibbs-White all went close.
The second finally did come on 34 minutes through Ramsey’s blistering strike.
Gibbs-White should have finished off a fine, flowing move in the lead-up but when his shot was saved, the ball drifted out to the edge of the box where Ramsey thundered it low past the keeper.
It was a fabulous strike that sent a vibrant Vitality crowd wild, although he did follow it up minutes later with an effort that sailed out of the small ground into the car park.
Two became three shortly after the break as Madueke’s deflected ball put Balogun through on goal.
The Middlesbrough loanee’s shot was weak but it rebounded to Gibbs-White who stabbed it into the roof of the net.
Despite Ramsey’s wonderstrike, arguably the goal of the night came from the visitors for what was their first goal of their pointless qualifying campaign.
Livramento had his pocket picked by Rosas around the halfway line, allowing the winger to race towards goal, nutmeg Luke Thomas and fire past Josef Bursik.
Saints whizkid Livramento soon made up for it by firing over a cross to sub Gordon who fired home the fourth with an exquisite volley.
The win made it 50 Euro qualifying games unbeaten in a row - a run that stretches back just over a decade.
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Asked about that record, Carsley added: “I think it’s testament not only to the players but the staff who have coached them as well. It’s no mean feat and I’m experiencing that first hand.
“It’s definitely something in the back of my mind and something I’m keen to keep going.”