England U21 1-1 Poland U21: Dominic Calvert-Lewin's strike not enough as Aidy Boothroyd's side are held in European Championship warm-up clash England Under-21s were held to a draw by Poland Under-21s in a friendly at Ashton Gate Dominic Calvert-Lewin put England ahead in the 13th minute after he was set up by Reiss Nelson Poland equalised in the 34th minute courtesy of a free-kick from Sebastian SzymanskiBy Dominic King for MailOnline Published: 21:39 GMT, 21 March 2019 | Updated: 21:44 GMT, 21 March 2019 Viewcomments Advertisement The result was not what Aidy Boothroyd wanted; there were elements of the performance, meanwhile, that will have left him shaking his head. But it is likely there will come a point during the build-up to England’s assault on the Under-21 European Championships when the head coach will think about this night in Bristol and realise he has a group of players that can go all the way. A 1-1 draw with Poland might not send a message across the continent but those who study the highlights of this interesting friendly will not fail to see that England has an abundance of attacking talent that could light up the championships. Dominic Calvert-Lewin celebrates after putting England Under-21 in the lead against Poland Under-21 Everton striker Calvert-Lewin showed impressive composure to finish after he was set up by Reiss Nelson The England Under-21 players congratulate Calvert-Lewin after he put them in the lead at Ashton Gate Had it not been for some bad luck and inspired goalkeeping, England – inspired by the wonderful passing of Phil Foden and the electric surges of Reiss Nelson and Ademola Lookman – would have flattened their visitors. It was quickly apparent this would not be a mundane contest. Poland, roared on by 2000 ex-patriots, had three chances in the first three minutes as England’s defenders made silly mistakes and struggled to gather their composure. Soon, though, they were on the front foot with Foden elegantly pulling strings. He created England’s first chance in the fifth minute with a pass that could have come straight from the repertoire of his Manchester City team-mate David Silva. Calvert-Lewin, really, should have applied a finish. Sebastian Szymanski scored the equaliser for Poland Under-21 with a free-kick in the 34th minute MATCH FACTS England (4-3-3): Gunn 6: Kenny 8, Tomori 7, Kelly 6, DaSilva 6,: Dowell 7 (Choudhury 80mins), Foden 7.5 (Davies 72mins), Maddison 6: Lookman 7 (Gray 72mins) Calvert-Lewin 6.5 (Barnes 72mins), Nelson 7 (Solanke 72mins) Subs: Woodman, Clarke-Salter, Walker-Peters, Sessegnon, Fry, Konsa Goal: Calvert-Lewin 13 Poland: Grabara; Fila, Bielik, Wieteska, Stolarski; Piotrowski, Dziczek, Kapustka; Michalak (Gaska 62), Buksa (Swiderski 73), Szymanski (Wdowiak 80) Subs: Tomczyk, Zawada, Jozwiak, Labojko, Jonczy, Dragowski, Loska, Jagiello Goal: Szymanski 34 The Poland Under-21 players celebrate after Szymanski's free-kick pulled them level against England Jonjoe Kenny struck the post in the second half as England attempted to restore their lead against Poland Phil Foden attempts to make an impact for England Under-21 while being closed down by Poland's Bartosz Kaputska England defender Kenny goes for goal from distance during the clash against Poland James Maddison attempts to make an impact for England as Szymanski tries to dispossess him England's Nelson is challenged by Poland's Krystian Bielik, with both players currently out on loan from Arsenal England's Ademola Lookman attempts to get the better of Poland's Szymanski during a hard-fought encounter England's Kieran Dowell battles for possession with Poland's Pawel Stolarski during the friendly match The Everton striker quickly made amends as in the 13th minute Jay Da Silva invited Reiss Nelson to scurry forward and the Arsenal winger, who is on loan at Hoffenheim, went around goalkeeper Kamil Grabara to set up a chance that Calvert-Lewin could not miss. England tried to consolidate their lead and went close to extending it thanks to a thumping drive from Everton right-back Jonjoe Kenny but they were pegged back, spectacularly, in the 34th minute when Legia Warsaw forward Sebastian Szymanski bent a 30-yard free-kick into the top corner. (174) After the break, England laid siege to Poland’s goal but the closest they came to a breakthrough was a shot from Kenny that Grabara turned on to the post after some glorious passing. If they are saving the goals for the tournament, Boothroyd will not complain. Poland's Adam Buksa attempts to push forward after evading the challenge of England defender Fikayo Tomori England boss Aidy Boothroyd watched on as his side prepared for this summer's Under-21 European Championship The Poland supporters generated a lively atmosphere for the friendly clash at Bristol City's Ashton Gate Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility