Oxford Mail

The Oxford United striker, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, played the first 56 minutes and was then replaced by Ipswich Town forward Liam Delap.

Scarlett opened the scoring after good work from Samuel Iling-Junior down the left-hand side saw the winger cross into the centre, where Scarlett produced an excellent diving header at the near post.

The 20-year-old had the chance to give England an even earlier lead, but his strike was blocked by a crowd of Netherlands players.

After opening the scoring though, England needed former U’s loanee James Beadle to keep their lead, and was tested when Ezechiel Banzui directed a header at goal, yet Beadle made the stop.

In the second half, Beadle made another save to deny Banzui, this time with a long-range strike.

With less than 10 minutes to go, the Netherlands grabbed an equaliser when substitute Thom van Bergen collected Stoke City winger Million Manhoef’s pass and fired past an onrushing Beadle.

England then called upon Beadle in the closing stages to make a handful of late stops.

For Scarlett though, his goal backed up the little over 20 minutes he got from the bench as England were held to a goalless draw away against Spain in their first match of the November international window.

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Idris El Mizouni played 85 minutes as he picked up his second cap for Tunisia.

Line-ups published online show El Mizouni as playing up front in a 4-1-2-1-2 set-up, however match replays indicate that El Mizouni was in a midfield role at home against Gambia.

Tunisia lost the game 1-0, with the only goal of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier coming when Abdoulie Ceesay found the net with a header after 17 minutes.

The defeat saw Tunisia slip to second in Group A, behind Comoros, but qualification had already been secured.

Paris-born El Mizouni’s only previous cap came back in June 2019, when he came on as a substitute during a 2-0 friendly win against Iraq.

Greg Leigh played half an hour from the bench as Jamaica lost a 4-2 thriller in the second leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final against the United States.

The US led 1-0 from the first leg, and raced into a 4-0 aggregate lead by half-time in the second leg.

Goals were exchanged at either end by the time Leigh replaced Tayvon Gray, while Demarai Gray grabbed his second for Jamaica as the aggregate score finished 5-2 to the United States.

The Leicester City loanee has impressed since stepping into the starting XI for the goalless draw at home to Burnley last month.

Including the Clarets game, Nelson has started each of the last five matches for United.

At home against Derby County last night, the centre half’s ability to carry the ball into midfield and then search for a through pass for the U’s attackers was particularly eye-catching.

Naturally, such bravery in possession brings with it risk too, and there were a couple of occasions when ambitious passes didn’t quite reach their target.

For United though, the potential reward outweighs the risk.

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U’s first team assistant head coach Craig Short, a Premier League centre back with Everton and Blackburn Rovers, is enjoying what he’s seeing from Nelson.

Short said: “I’m encouraging him to do that, and I’ve spoken to him quite a bit about it. When you’ve got one centre forward pressing you, you can do that.

“He’s got exceptional pace as well. He glides across the ground and is probably one of the quickest players here.

“He’s got two good feet, and you wouldn’t think he was right-footed with some of the left-footed diagonals he was hitting.

“We’ll encourage him to do that, of course we will, and then you’ve always got someone who can fill in for him. I’m not going to stop him doing that.”

Against the Rams, Dane Scarlett was handed his first league start for United, and backed up his stoppage time leveller at the weekend with the opener last night.

Short said of the Tottenham Hotspur loanee: “He’s deserved his chance and he’s trained really well. Last year, we had to keep rolling out Mark [Harris] every week, and he did a great job, of course he did, but now we’ve got competition, and with three games in a week, it’s important to adjust the side.

“Dane has paid us back. He was never going to last more than sixty minutes, I don’t think, and he said he was feeling it a little bit, but when you’ve got Mark Harris to come on, you’ve always got a threat anyway, so it’s good having that squad.”

Short added: “We’ve watched him in training and he’s well thought of by Spurs. Some of the stuff he does in training, you wouldn’t want to play against him.

“It’s good having the competition. Last year, it was fortunate that Mark got through the whole season without getting any injuries.

“We want to save his legs sometimes, and especially with a big game this weekend away at Sunderland, with the travelling, it’s important we do rotate the squad.”

The Tottenham Hotspur loanee replaced Mark Harris with 64 minutes on the clock, and the score at 1-0 to the Baggies.

Two minutes into stoppage time, a long Will Vaulks throw-in was flicked on by Elliott Moore into the direction of Scarlett, who guided a header beyond Alex Palmer in the Albion goal.

READ ALSO: Initial reaction from Des Buckingham after U’s salvage late draw against West Brom

Scarlett said: “I’m happy and I’m buzzing for the boys to get the result in the end, and for me, it was good to get that chance.

“I just had to anticipate it in the last minutes of the game. As a striker, you need to be ready for those kinds of moments, and thankfully it fell to me.

“It was a dream and a really good feeling, and hopefully there’s more to come now.

“I just have to be patient. My chances will come, and today it came, and I took it, so we’ll see what happens.

“It’s a challenge, but I’m up for the challenge. I’m ready to take it now. I’ve had a few loans now, but now it’s time to push on.”

During the international break, Scarlett was promoted from England’s Elite League squad, formerly the Under-20s, to the Under-21s for Euro qualifiers against Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

Scarlett was unused in a 2-1 win against Ukraine, but got a goal and an assist from the bench in a 7-0 romp over Azerbaijan.

The striker, who has previously captained the Elite League side, said of his impact against Azerbaijan: “That boosted my confidence. I needed that. Hopefully from now on, it’s positive.

“One of the best feelings in football is leading your nation out, I would say. That’s really good, and it helps when I come back to senior men’s football.

“I can be involved and let them know that I’m a leader too even though I’m young.

“I go and play football, and enjoy football. When I’m on the pitch, I’m the happiest I will be.”

The 20-year-old striker has made six Sky Bet Championship appearances for United, all from the bench, totalling 93 minutes.

He replaced Mark Harris after 64 minutes at home against West Bromwich Albion this afternoon, and popped up with a stoppage time leveller.

A long throw-in from Will Vaulks was flicked on by Elliott Moore to the path of Scarlett, who in turn headed beyond Alex Palmer to salvage a 1-1 draw for the U’s.

United head coach Buckingham said: “We’re happy that we’ve come up against a really good side in West Brom, a team that I’m sure will be challenging to go up and out of this league, and to be able to put on the second half performance that we did and come away with a result against a very good team, I’m very happy.

“We made some changes. You saw quite a few in the second half. Louie Sibley came on with Dane Scarlett, and you saw Owen [Dale] and Malcolm [Ebiowei] come on.

“We wanted to really get after them and get more attacking players on the pitch. It paid off, and Dane’s been very patient.

“He’s had probably fewer minutes than he’d have liked, but Mark Harris has been in extremely good form.

“What we’ve now got, including Will Goodwin, is three there, so if we know it’s not quite working with Sparky, then Dane is more than capable of going in to contribute.

“It’s about time one of those long throws came in. We don’t use them very often, so it’s nice to see.

“Pricey [Lewis Price, goalkeeping coach] will be claiming it as a set piece goal, and we chucked an extra body in the box because of the time, and Elliott did really well to flick it on, and I’m really delighted for Dane.”

Buckingham added: “We knew coming into this level of football that we’re probably going to come up against teams that are not better than us, but will pose different challenges.

“We just need to set our team up to be respectful of that, but not come too far away from allowing us to play the way we want.

“What I’m really happy now with is 10 games in, we’ve faced 10 very different tests, but we’ve been able to navigate our way through them to come out with results.

“It’s results at the end of the day which are going to keep us where we want to be, which is in this league.

“If we can keep performing to the levels we have, that’ll put us in the best spot.”

A Karlan Grant strike just before half an hour had been played gave West Bromwich Albion the lead shortly before the half-hour mark, and as the game looked to be getting away from United, substitute Scarlett salvaged a draw.

Two minutes into stoppage time, Scarlett met a long throw-in with a header which flew past Alex Palmer in the Baggies goal.

Des Buckingham made two changes to the side which drew 1-1 at Portsmouth prior to the international break, as Elliott Moore returned to the heart of the defence in place of Sam Long, while Siriki Dembele came in for Kyle Edwards.

Before kick-off, there was a minute’s silence for two-time former U’s loanee George Baldock, who recently passed away aged just 31. Both teams wore black armbands during the game.

United had the first sniff of goal with seven minutes on the clock, as Mark Harris beat the offside trap, however his first touch took him a tad wide towards the left, allowing Palmer to make a save at his near post.

Will Vaulks hung the resulting corner to the back post and the ball fell to Elliott Moore, who stabbed an effort into the gloves of Palmer.

At the other end, Darnell Furlong drove into space and sent a strike wide from outside the penalty area.

A near post header from Torjbjorn Heggem flew narrowly off target from a corner, while Harris lined up a shot from 25 yards, but he sent it high and wide.

Albion took the lead just before half an hour had been played when calls for a foul on Dembele were waved away by referee Leigh Doughty seconds before Grant drilled a low strike into Jamie Cumming’s bottom right corner from 25 yards.

Ciaron Brown then headed just over from an outswinging Vaulks corner, before Uros Racic sent an effort off target when a Baggies corner fell to him 20 yards out from goal.

The final bit of action of the half saw Grant run infield from the left-hand side, before driving a right-footed strike into the midriff of Cumming.

The second period began with a slack ball across the Baggies backline almost presenting an opportunity to Dembele, who couldn’t quite get the ball out his feet to get a shot away.

Six minutes into the second half, Buckingham was shown a yellow card after Doughty blew for a free kick when Albion skipper Kyle Bartley hit the turf following a soft nudge in the back from Harris.

Dembele then went agonisingly close when he made his way to the byline, before cutting back to send in a cross which narrowly evaded both posts and skimmed out of play for a goal kick.

A loose ball fell to Racic centrally just inside the box and he fired a low strike through the bodies and into the gloves of Cumming.

Buckingham made a double switch with 64 minutes played, as Louie Sibley and Scarlett replaced Ruben Rodrigues and Harris respectively, and 10 minutes later, Malcolm Ebiowei came on for Dembele.

That change saw Crystal Palace loanee Ebiowei go to the right wing, with Tyler Goodrham moving over to the left.

The sting had been well and truly taken out of the fixture, and with seven minutes to go, Buckingham again looked to his bench to freshen things up.

This time, he sent on Owen Dale for Idris El Mizouni, as Dale lined up on the left, allowing Goodrham to drop back into midfield.

Five minutes of stoppage time were signalled, and two minutes into them, Scarlett headed United level.

A long throw from Vaulks was hurled into the penalty box, and Tottenham Hotspur loanee Scarlett rose well to head home after Moore had initially flicked the ball on.

Oxford United (4-3-3): Cumming; Kioso, Moore, Nelson, Brown; Rodrigues (Sibley 64), Vaulks, El Mizouni (Dale 83); Goodrham, Harris (Scarlett 64), Dembele (Ebiowei 74).

Unused subs: Ingram, Long, ter Avest, Leigh, Goodwin.

Booked: Nelson, Sibley.

West Bromwich Albion (4-2-3-1): Palmer; Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Heggem; Racic (Molumby 83), Mowatt; Fellows (Wallace 70), Diangana (Swift 70), Grant; Maja (Johnston 83).

Unused subs: Wildsmith, Styles, Diakite, Dobbin, McNair.

Booked: Mowatt.

Referee: Leigh Doughty (Lancashire)

Attendance: 11,453 (TBC visitors)

The 20-year-old, on loan at Oxford United from Tottenham Hotspur, skippered England’s ‘Elite League’ squad, formerly the Under-20s, as they welcomed Romania for a fixture at Stockport County’s Edgeley Park.

Scarlett gave England the lead after half an hour had been played, opening the scoring from a Kaide Gordon corner.

Sheffield United striker Louie Marsh added a second goal for England, with less than quarter of an hour to go.

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Fellow loanee Ben Nelson, with United from Leicester City, was an unused substitute.

Both Nelson and Scarlett started though, as England drew 1-1 with Turkey in Istanbul on Friday evening.

Turkey took the lead through an 18th-minute penalty, but substitute Dom Ballard, on loan at Blackpool from Southampton, equalised with two minutes left on the clock.

Nelson played the full match in that game, while Scarlett was replaced in stoppage time by Marsh.

Elsewhere, Greg Leigh played the full 90 minutes in an unconventional right back slot, as Jamaica beat Honduras 2-1 in a Concacaf Nations League clash. Luton Town left back Amari’i Bell was on the left-hand side of Jamaica’s defence.

An own goal from Denil Maldonado handed Jamaica the lead four minutes into the second period, but Inter Miami midfielder David Ruiz levelled matters just a minute later.

West Ham United forward Michail Antonio netted from the penalty spot in the 76th minute to hand Jamaica the win though.

U’s left back Leigh had been an unused substitute when Jamaica were held to a goalless draw against Cuba, in what was Steve McClaren’s first game as head coach of the Reggae Boyz.

Yunior Perez was sent off for Cuba just before half-time, but Jamacia couldn’t make the breakthrough in the second half.

Former United player and coach McClaren was appointed Jamaica boss at the end of July, succeeding Heimir Hallgrimsson, who resigned in June to take charge of the Republic of Ireland.

McClaren had spent the previous two years as assistant to Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, but left the Red Devils after agreeing a two-year deal with the Reggae Boyz.

Also in international action was Marselino Ferdinan, who helped Indonesia to a goalless draw against Australia in a 2026 World Cup third round qualifying tie.

Ferdinan got 80 minutes under his belt, before being replaced by Pratama Arhan, and previously played the final half an hour as Indonesia drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this week, Mark Harris came on for the final 10 minutes as Wales won 2-1 in Montenegro in their UEFA Nations League fixture. Harris was an unused substitute when Wales drew 0-0 with Turkey on Friday night.

Ciaron Brown was the only U’s player on international duty to play the full game in both fixtures, doing so as Northern Ireland beat Luxembourg 2-0 and then lost 1-0 to Bulgaria in Nations League meetings.

The striker, on loan at Oxford United from Tottenham Hotspur, has been named in the squad ahead of fixtures against Turkey and Romania next month.

England face Turkey in Istanbul on September 6, before a home game at Stockport County’s Edgeley Park on September 10.

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Scarlett, who has made two appearances since joining the U’s on loan, will be battling with Will Alves (Leicester City), Dom Ballard (Blackpool, on loan from Southampton), Romain Esse (Millwall), Omari Kellyman (Chelsea) and Emre Tezgel (Stoke City) for a place in the England attack.

Leicester centre back Ben Nelson, linked with a deadline day switch to United, is also included in the squad.

The 20-year-old striker joined Oxford United on a season-long loan last week, and in addition to making 17 appearances for the Spurs first team, Scarlett scored 12 goals in 14 games for the England Under-19s, and six in 16 matches for the Under-20s.

Scarlett has also had loans stints with Portsmouth and Ipswich Town.

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U’s head coach Buckingham said: “It’s great that Tottenham have trusted us with his development. He’s a young, exciting English centre forward with a lot of caps for the England age group teams.

“Anyone that’s been fortunate to watch him in that space, he’s certainly showcased his power and what he’ll bring to us.

“His experience in the last two years when he’s gone out on loan, he probably hasn’t got as many games as he’d have wanted, and the way that hopefully he can here, that’s the platform we’ll try and provide for him.

“There’s a lot of history in terms of this club helping develop young players, with Fin Stevens being the latest off that conveyor belt for loans.

“We’ve also got a good track record of working and developing our own. You only have to look at people like Tyler Goodrham and the others that have come through of late, so hopefully it’s a good breeding ground and environment for him to develop, while aiding us to get where we want to get to.”

The 20-year-old striker arrived at Oxford United on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur last week, and made his debut as a late substitute in the 3-2 defeat at Coventry City.

Scarlett is a Spurs academy graduate and has made 17 appearances for the first time, while also having loan spells at Portsmouth and Ipswich Town.

He made his Spurs debut under Jose Mourinho in November 2020, coming on as a substitute in a 4-0 win against Bulgarian side Ludogorets in a Europa League group stage clash.

His debut saw him become Spurs’ youngest ever player, although that accolade has since been taken from him.

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Scarlett said: “Harry Kane taught me a lot. Just watching him every day, you can see the quality that he has, and that is amazing what it can do for you.

“I’d also say Sonny. He’s great with both feet, a leader, and everything that he does is amazing.

“The things that you wouldn’t really look at are also a big thing. The way he works is amazing, and off the ball, he’s so good.

“Jose gave me my debut. He was good, and I’ll always be thankful for him giving me my debut.”

The U’s reportedly beat interest from fellow Sky Bet Championship side Sunderland, plus others, to Scarlett’s signature.

However, after speaking to United head coach Des Buckingham, the striker was certain as to his next loan move.

He said: “I had a few options, but I saw this opportunity as the best for me, so that’s why I decided Oxford.

“I spoke to the manager here, and a few other managers, and Des came across the best for me, so I was looking forward to coming.

“There’s healthy competition, and everything’s for the team. It’s a long season with a lot of games, and you have to be at it every week. You have to work hard in training, and success will come.

“I’m still young, I’m still learning the game, but I think it’s time now that I start playing consistently at this level, and hopefully progress further.”

Discussing his main strengths and attributes on the pitch, Scarlett said: “I’d say my movement in and around the area. I think I’m good at finishing, and I can link play and help create, as much as scoring myself.”

He added: “I’m really excited. Obviously the weekend was a little bit disappointing, but I think it’s been a good start for the group.

“If we keep the momentum going from the previous games, I think we’ll be alright.”

The 20-year-old is a Spurs academy graduate, and won’t be available tomorrow when the U’s welcome Peterborough United in the Carabao Cup.

He is though expected to be in contention when United visit Coventry City in Sky Bet Championship action on Friday night.

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Scarlett made his Spurs debut in November 2020, coming on as a substitute in a 4-0 win against Bulgarian side Ludogorets in a Europa League group stage clash.

His debut saw him become Spurs’ youngest ever player, although that accolade has since been taken from him.

Scarlett made two more appearances during the 2020/21 season, and a further seven the following campaign.

In October 2021, he scored a penalty for Tottenham’s Under-21s in a 3-2 defeat against the U’s in the EFL Trophy.

Scarlett joined Portsmouth on a season-long loan for the 2022/23 campaign, and scored six times in 40 appearances across all competitions.

Last season, he spent time on loan at Ipswich Town, but was recalled by Spurs in December after making 12 appearances, all from the bench.

He featured six times for Spurs before the end of the campaign, and is contracted with the Premier League team until 2027.

United have reportedly beaten fellow Championship side Sunderland to Scarlett’s signature.