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John Welsh scores on full debut in England Under 21's victory

Liverpool midfielder John Welsh opened the scoring for the England Under 21's in their 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan last night in what was his first start for his country at that level. The win takes England three points clear of Germany in Group Six and keepes them on course to qualify for the finals.

John opened the scoring for England just short of the half hour mark when he collected a pass from James Milner on the right and fired into the far corner from the edge of the box. It was a superb goal and gave England the boost they needed - within fifteen minutes Dean Ashton had doubled the lead and England were set fair for victory.

John completed an excellent performance in the second half and drew praise from coach Peter Taylor: "He might have to be a Steven Gerrard to get in the Liverpool side.

"But John just has to be patient and work hard, because he's got the talent. He reminds me of Jamie Carragher at that age - but he's a bit shorter!"

Darren Bent was the only other Stellar man to play - Chelsea's Glen Johnson was suspended.The Under 21's now have to wait until September for the continuation of the qualification programme with a tricky away trip to Wales.

Liverpool midfielder John Welsh lived up to comparisons with club-mate Steven Gerrard by putting England on course to go top of their European Championship group last night.

Welsh's first goal for the under-21s was exactly what a 19,095 crowd at the Riverside Stadium could have expected from a player whose combative style has been likened to that of Gerrard.

Welsh, 21, formed an impressive central partnership with Tom Huddlestone and skilfully scored in the 27th minute by curling the ball beyond goalkeeper Ruslan Majidov from 18 yards after James Milner had badly scuffed his own shot on goal.

Norwich striker Dean Ashton doubled the lead with a 15-yard, angled piledriver after the industrious Milner had prised open the opposition by slaloming through midfield in the 42nd minute following Steven Taylor's pass out of defence.

It was Ashton's fourth goal for the under-21s in six games.

Azerbaijan never seemed likely to break a scoring duck that had lasted 3½ years. The margin of victory could have been wider but the Azeri keeper denied Darren Bent with a fine one-handed save. Huddlestone twice went close with long-range shots and Darren Ambrose and Jon Stead had efforts saved as England moved towards a comfortable victory.

Match details

England (4-4-2): Carson (Liverpool); Rosenior (Fulham), Taylor (Newcastle), Davenport (Southampton, loan), Whittingham (Aston Villa); Milner (Newcastle), Welsh (Liverpool), Huddlestone (Derby), Richardson (West Bromwich, loan); Ashton (Norwich), Bent (Ipswich).
Subs: Routledge (Crystal Palace) for Richardson 56; Stead (Blackburn) for Ashton, 67; Ambrose (Newcastle) for Bent 81. Not used: Camp (Derby g), Ridgewell (Aston Villa), Marney (Tottenham), Routledge (Crystal Palace), Moore (Aston Villa), Stead (Blackburn), Ambrose (Newcastle).
Azerbaijan (1-3-5-1): Majidov; Namazov; Amirjanov, Levin (E Abbasov 77), Allahverdiyev; Rajabov (Abdurahmanov 90), Sadigov, Huseynov, R Abbasov, Maharramov; Aghakishiyev (Mammadov 64).
Subs: Karimi (g), Abdurahmanov, Mammadov, Nuriyev, Adishirinov, E Abbasov, Muradov.
Booked: Maharramov.

John Welsh

Squad Number: 32
Position: Defence
Place of Birth: Liverpool
Date Of Birth: 10/ 01/ 1984
Height: 5'7
Weight: 11st 6lbs

John Welsh is a local lad who has risen through the ranks at Liverpool since joining the club at the age of 10.

The England Under-19 and now Under-21 international made his breakthrough into the first team during the 2002/03 season. The 19-year-old was named among the substitutes for a number of European games before finally making his debut at Anfield, in the Reds' Worthington Cup fourth round win over Ipswich.

The 2003/04 campaign saw him feature for the Reds in their UEFA Cup clash with Olimpija Ljubljana, and for seven minutes of the 2-1 League defeat to Arsenal, which also saw the youngster collect a yellow card.

Welsh has been tipped to be the next Steven Gerrard as the two players have similar styles of play, so naturally the club have high hopes for him. The Reserve team skipper will be looking to continue his progress following the departure of Gerard Houllier, and impress new coach Rafael Benitez.

Welsh has been with Liverpool since the age of ten and was handed a squad number for the first time at the start of the 2002/03 season.

Very highly rated by the Anfield club, he is a former captain of the England Schoolboys side and has also played for his country up to Under-19 level. He was also in the side that reached the semi-finals of the European Under-16 Championships.

He can play anywhere across the back four, as well as in midfield, and has been likened to Steven Gerrard.

Welsh's Liverpool debut came in December 2002 as a sub in a Worthington Cup tie at home to Ipswich Town.

He was handed his Premiership debut in October 2003, replacing Salif Diao for the final seven minutes of the 2-1 home defeat at Arsenal.

The best prospect to emerge from the Academy since Steven Gerrard, Welsh has been training at Melwood with the first team since he was just 17 years old.

John was a regular with the u19s from the age of 16, and has been a fixture in the reserves for three seasons, captaining the side for the last two.

Welsh is a former England schoolboy captain and has represented his country at all age levels up to under 21's. Strong in the tackle, neat and tidy in possession and with an eye for goal, Welsh is an all action midfielder who should have been given a lot more first team chances than he has so far

He made his senior debut as a substitute in a League Cup tie at Ipswich in the 2002/03 season, and made two more substitute appearances the follwoing season, including one at home to Arsenal in the Premiership when he was booked within seconds of coming on.

Welsh has attracted the attention of several division one clubs, including Coventry, Crewe and Sunderland, who all wanted the youngster on loan. Initially Houllier was reluctant to allow Welsh to leave, even on loan, but eventually he relented and agreed to allow him to join Sunderland. Unfortunately a broken toe sustained in a reserve fixture put paid to that move.

Despite his lack of first team involvement, Welsh was still called up to represent England u21's, and made a good impression when he played the full ninety minutes against Holland.

Rafa Benitez's arrival, and subsequent cull of the French squad players blocking the local youngsters path to the first team gave hope to Welsh, but a slump in form at the start of the 2004/05 season meant he had to watch from the sidelines as the likes of Potter, Warnock and Mellor were given opportunities.

He appeared as a sub in the Carling Cup win over Middlesboro, and impressed in the short time he was on the field. Another impressive cameo followed at White Hart Lane in the next round, before he made his full debut in the FA Cup defeat at Burnley.

The disappointment of that night was tempered by the offer of a contract extension by Benitez, and with Salif Diao sent out on loan for the rest of the season, John will be hoping for more first team chances.