Elsewhere, Gary O'Neil's forever reappearing groin injury meant he couldn't captain the England U21s against Holland. The young Lions went down 2-1 losers anyway, Bristol City's Leroy Lita grabbing a late consolation. It could've been a grand occasion for our young midfielder as 33,000 fans turned up at Derby's Pride Park for the match, but it was not to be. Far more importantly, he now faces a rush to be fit for Saturday's match against Aston Villa.
Pompey reserves, meanwhile, followed in the footsteps of the first team by losing at St Mary's. To be fair to us, Andrea Guatelli was the only member of the team aged over 19 - due to injuries, the huge number of players out on loan and international duties, the youth team were playing - whilst the Southampton side were full of Premiership experience. Despite this Pompey actually took the lead through Liam Horsted, although in the end the brave resistance was viciously crushed as the home team ran out 5-1 winners.
Still, at least they can console themselves that they weren't part of the San Marino team who lost 14-0 to Spain.