One Call Stadium hosted an extremely entertaining under 19s international between England and Germany this evneing, from which the Germans emerged 3-1 victors.
The Young Lions came into the clash fresh from a 7-1 thrashing against Poland U19s but found themselves 2-0 down inside the opening five minutes. Forward Adrian Fein put them ahead after just 64 seconds and just a minute later came a crisp finish from Benjamin Goller sailed past 'keeper Ryan Schofield.
Germany were prowling in the early stages and came forward again before long, but England restricted them to possession in midfield.
Midfielder Kai Havertz almost lobbed Schofield from distance, but the ball fell wide of the England goal. Then seconds later, the Germans had a shot blocked Manuel Wintzheimer's follow-up was also blocked.
However, it didn't take long for the Three Lions to give the home fans something to cheer, when they replied in the 11th minute through Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson.
The winger drove in an effort after striker Ben Brereton provided good hold-up play that led to a sublime finish from the Gunners' youngster.
Chelsea youngster Mason Mount was given a chance from a free-kick after winger Jonathan Leko was brought down around 25 yards from goal. The Vitesse Arnhem loanee stepped up but it sailed wide of the left-hand side of the goal and provided little danger for German goalkeeper Jan-Christoph Bartels.
After England had settled into the game, Benjamin Goller almost put the Germans 3-1 up in the 20th minute but to Schofield's delight, the shot hit the upright of the woodwork and any remaining danger was cleared up quickly from the English defence.
After a very entertaining start to the game, things began to settle down after the 23rd minute mark, with England beginning to have more possession of the ball which eventually led to a chance for Brereton. The Nottingham Forest striker got his head to the ball after he was picked out from a well-worked corner but it was headed wide by the frontman.
England continued to apply pressure to the German defence and a great run from Reiss Nelson led to the first card of the game after Kai Havertz pulled him back to prevent the counter attack from progressing.
Germany went into the break with a 2-1 advantage but the game still hung in the balance with England by no means out of it.
At the start of the second half, Germany swapped goalkeepers with Bartels replaced by Niclas Thiede and after just a minute, England found themselves in a familiar situation when the Germans threatened to add to their lead after a scramble in the penalty area, but Wintzheimer couldn't get his shot away.
Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson continued his impressive performance and he showed fine pace and sprinted past the German defence before playing a great ball into Brereton, who forced a save by Thiede.
After the first minute scare, it was England who were dominant for the first ten minutes of the second half, until Alfons Amade and Adrian Fein created two more chances, which forced Schofield to make two great saves to ensure the Germans didn't add to their lead.
England's first substitutions came in the 60th minute with three players coming onto the pitch; George Hirst, Japhet Tanganga and Tariq Uwakwe all came on in place of Edward Francis, Flynn Downes and Ben Brereton.
With England desperately trying to find a goal to equalise, they again came close in the 66th minute, but good build up play from Nelson and Leko led to nothing as Germany managed to scramble the ball away to hold their lead.
The match was then delayed in the 67th minute after a floodlight on the left side of the Quarry Lane End caused the match to come to a temporary halt, giving the players a chance to have a short breather whilst the issue was resolved.
After an 11-minute stoppage, play was allowed to resume and England had to defend a German corner well, heading it out of danger.
England then replaced Marcus McGuane and Jonathan Leko with Joe Willock and Edward Nketiah who both scored hat-tricks against Poland last Friday.
Germany made their second substitution in the 71st minute as Benjamin Goller, who'd been one of Germany's stand out players in the match, was replaced by Yari Otto.
With just 15 minutes of the match remaining, England needed to find an equaliser desperately to draw level.
The same floodlight was proving temperamental again, but the referee deemed the pitch visible for the players and play continued from a goal kick from Theide.
Germany then made their third substitution of the match with Linton Maina coming on for Jannis Kubler.
Germany had a chance after Maina's shot was deflected to the far side and provided Germany with a corner, but it was cleared by the fists of Ryan Schofield. The 'keeper's punch gave England a chance for a counter attack but Reiss Nelson's pass only found the boots of Adrian Fein.
England continued to press and some fine footwork from Reiss Nelson drew a foul 25 yards from goal. Captain Mason Mount stepped up to take the set piece, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.
With eleven minutes of stoppage time announced, Reiss Nelson - who'd been one of the best players on the pitch for the Young Lions - came off for Sunderland's Elliott Embleton who also scored in the friendly against Poland.
Embleton made an instant impact and he hit saw a low shot into the chest of Theide.
With time running out for the Young Lions to score a goal, Germany made their final two substitutions of the game, with Atakan Akkaynak and Pai Dardai replacing goalscorer Adrian Fein and Manuel Wintzheimmer, who had came close to scoring on a couple of occasions.
Linton Maina almost wrapped up the win for Germany with just two minutes of stoppage time remaining, but his shot was drilled over the crossbar when he was one-on-one with Schofield.
The killer third which sealed the win for Germany came in the last few seconds of the game when Kai Havertz provided the final finish into the bottom right of the goal.
ENGLAND U19s XI: Schofield, Sterling, Tymon, McGuane (Willock 69), Francis (Tanganga 60), Brown, Leko (Nkeitah 69), Downes (Uwakwe 60), Brereton (Hirst 60), Mount (C), Nelson (Embleton 90+2)
SUBS NOT USED: Hirst, Turner, Kemp, James, Bennetts
GERMANY U19s XI: Bartels (Theide 45), Amade, Gian-Luca Itter, Baack, Baak, Kubler (Maina 79), Maier, Havertz (C), Goller (Otto 73), Fein (Akkaynak 90+7), Wintzheimer (Dardai 90+7)
SUBS NOT USED: Grill, Beste, Kilian, Schreck, Davide Itter
ATTENDANCE: 3,566
