Pearce delighted with five-star show

England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce was delighted with his side's second-half showing as they thrashed Slovakia 5-0 in Norwich.

Kieran Richardson, Nigel Reo-Coker, Steven Taylor, Tom Huddlestone and Leroy Lita were all on the scoresheet at Carrow Road as England continued their build-up to the European Under-21 Championship in Holland.

Pearce told Sky Sports: "I was disappointed at half-time. We let the opposition pass the ball too much and gave them too much room. I said a few things and they reacted to that and put a good performance on."

England also won a penalty shoot-out at the end of the match which had been specially arranged to provide the players extra practice.

Pearce added: "Ever since we met up for the training camp we have had a penalty shoot-out after every training session.

"We are learning from it. To have a penalty shoot-out in front of a crowd like that is invaluable experience."

Skipper Nigel Reo-Coker refused to be carried away. Instead, the West Ham midfielder preferred to look at the game as merely another element of the build-up for the event in Holland starting next week.

He said: "It's all preparation for the tournament, it's nice to get a win but we've got to look at positives and negatives. The positives? We scored five goals. (But it's) all preparation for Holland."

The 23-year-old also insists the team are confident they can succeed in Holland.

"We are very strong. We've got an abundance of talent in the under-21s. Even those who did not come off the bench, there is so much talent and ability. We are so positive and don't really fear anyone."