Football: Pearce's rescue act

England Under-19. . . . . . . . . . . . .1

South Korea Under-19. . . . . . . . . . .1

ENGLAND scored an own goal, needed a late equaliser and had Tottenham's Nick Barmby booked in a disappointing draw in their World Youth Cup opener against South Korea here yesterday.

South Korea, who took the lead after 33 minutes when the England right-back Steve Watson put through his own goal, showed plenty of skill and fighting spirit. England had numerous chances but the plan of playing Barmby as a lone striker did not work.

It was only when Leicester's Julian Joachim was introduced for Arsenal's Ian Selley with 15 minutes left that England began to find their rhythm. The equaliser arrived in the 84th minute when Ian Pearce beat the South Korean keeper Kim Hae-Woon to Alan Thompson's corner and headed home. Cho Jun-Ho tried to clear over the bar but merely deflected the ball into the roof of the net.

Pearce was overjoyed at scoring his first goal for England. 'The boss was saying it was about time I scored from a set-piece,' he said. The Chelsea central defender had been injured in the first minute when a stray Korean elbow caught him just below his right eye, causing a large swelling.

This opening Group C match offered a contrast in styles, with Korea full of running and England resorting mostly to the long ball and attacks from set-pieces. At times the Koreans gave England's teenagers a lesson in skill.

England's midfield often failed to give Barmby the support he required. His frustration was evident as early as the 10th minute when he was booked for kicking the ball away after the German referee, Helmut Krug, had penalised him for a foul. Barmby said he found it hard to get going against a well- drilled Korean defence.

The England manager, David Burnside, admitted there was plenty of room for improvement. 'I'm very pleased with the way my team played considering the lack of preparation. The longer we go the better we get,' he said.

He added that England needed more creativity and patience near goal. Judging by his performance as a substitute, Joachim, could be the answer. His combination with Barmby four minutes from time almost produced a surprise winner but the Spurs player failed to get any power in his shot from inside the six-yard box.

Later the former West Ham player, Bobby Howe, now manager of the United States youth team, watched his side thrash the European champions Turkey 6-0, with his striker Chris Faklaris scoring the tournament's first hat-trick. England play the US tomorrow.

Goals: S Watson og (33) 0-1; Pearce (85) 1-1.

ENGLAND UNDER-19: D Watson (Barnsley); S Watson (Newcastle), Pearce (Chelsea), Myers (Chelsea), Hughes (Crewe) Bart-Williams (Sheffield Wednesday), Caskey (Tottenham), Barmby (Tottenham), Pollock (Middlesbrough), Thompson (Newcastle), Selley (Arsenal). Substitute: Joachim (Leicester) for Selley, 75.

SOUTH KOREA UNDER-19: Kim Hae-Woon; Yoo Sang-Soo, Kim Jin-Woo, Cheol Park, Kim Dae-Ui (Jeon Kyung-Jun, 81), Lee Ho-Seong, Choi Yong-Soo, Cho Hyun-Doo, Choi Sung- Yong, Cho Jun-Ho, Lee Kyung-Soo.