At the end of a week that had left James McAtee distraught and heartbroken, his tribute to George Baldock couldn’t have been more perfect. Playing exactly like his former Sheffield United team-mate he knew he was capable of.
McAtee was sublime, a shining light at Bournemouth on a night in which the England Under-21s worked hard for long periods but ultimately refused to succumb in the way the seniors had done 24 hours earlier.
The excitement over the winning goal was clear, etched on his face after he unleashed a stunning late free-kick to prevent them from another Euro qualifying defeat. And then there was an outpouring when, even later, deep into stoppage time, McAtee was there to crush it again.
It means that the European champions are almost qualified, in fact, for next summer’s tournament, but in reality, this double meant a little more than that.
Both times, McAtee held up his jersey with pride. “Rest easy brother,” read a message to Baldock following the 31-year-old’s sudden death in Greece. The Manchester City midfielder, who had spent two years on loan at Bramall Lane, had been taken under Baldock’s wing.
The England Under-21 team had to wait to defeat their Ukrainian counterparts at the Vitality on Friday.
James McAtee scored twice in the final minutes to seal the three points for the Young Lions.
The Manchester City star paid tribute to the late George Baldock after his two goals.
Baldock had taken a teenage McAtee under his wing during his time at Sheffield United.
There are some lovely photos of the two of them, showing obvious affection for each other, as they celebrated promotion to the Premier League two years ago.
Baldock believed in McAtee, he was a real driver in making him feel part of the group and it feels like it is something the young man will not forget.
Both results were perfected with individual coach Dean Brathwaite, who spoke in these pages yesterday of the attention to detail they pay to their final product.
They also saved caretaker coach Ben Futcher from awkward questions after last month’s shock draw in Northern Ireland.
Ukraine had taken the lead with 19 minutes remaining, Taras Mykhavko scored a corner at the far post against an average defense, and England were facing a second defeat in qualifying before McAtee came on.
“It’s been tough for Macca,” Futcher said. “He’s a fantastic footballer. He’s a very lively character, he wanted to be on the pitch, he wanted to train, he wanted football. I’m absolutely delighted for him.
‘We made it difficult for ourselves tonight, I want us to be more ruthless. “But they showed incredible character, personality and faith.”