England Under-21 2 Spain Under-21 2: Late Lita turns boos into bouquets for Pearce

Leroy Lita, who ruined Stuart Pearce's Saturday with both Reading goals in their victory at Manchester City, made the England coach's night by scoring a late equaliser after they had trailed Spain 2-0 in the Under-21 friendly at Derby.

There were 11 minutes left when Lita, a second-half substitute, headed his 10th goal in as many matches following a cross by Curtis Davies, who thereby redeemed his torrid evening. David Nugent had given England hope by striking after the break, which Spain reached on cruise control after goals by Roberto Solardo and Jose Jurado.

England are now unbeaten in their five matches at Under-21 level this season, a strong build-up to the European Championships this summer and a positive start for Pearce as an international manager. They host Italy in another warm-up match next month, when Nigel Pearson, the Newcastle coach, will take temporary charge.

However, Spain, who have not qualified for the finals, were conspicuously superior until a spate of substitutions by Pearce changed the complexion of the contest. "We had a bloody nose for 45 minutes," he admitted. "But it's how you respond that matters. We said 'we're going to react to this as a group - we're going to do something about this situation'. We could have picked a nice, easy friendly and won 4-0, but tough times in football stand you in good stead."

England's initial lack of cohesion may have owed something to the disruption caused by Davies' problems. In the opening minutes the central defender collided with Spain's goalkeeper, Antonio Adan, as a cross swung in. Blood poured from a wound on the West Bromwich captain's face, but he carried on after treatment.

Unfortunately, there was little thunder to go with the blood, at least from England. Adan soon elected to leave his area to challenge Nugent, who was unable to apply sufficient purchase to his shot as the ball fell to him with the keeper stranded.

Davies came off for further attention from the physio but had no sooner returned to the fray than he gifted Spain a 35th-minute lead. Trying to bring the ball out of defence, he was dispossessed by Solardo. The Osasuna forward ran on, taking the ball round Scott Carson with his right foot before sidefooting home with the left.

Spain, featuring a clutch of players from Real Madrid and their nursery club, Castilla, moved the ball around more fluidly and were rewarded by a second goal in first-half stoppage time. Davies was left on the seat of his pants by Antonio Barragan, formerly of Liverpool, who played in Jurado for another accomplished finish.

England halved the deficit in the 49th minute. A free-kick by David Bentley, the pick of the England side after falling foul of Peter Taylor on a trip to Switzerland, was scuffed clear by a Spain defender in the danger area. The ball fell to Nugent, who dispatched a left-footed shot from 10 yards beyond Adan.

The touchline briefly resembled the Super Bowl as a succession of substitutes flexed their muscles under the gaze of coaches and fitness experts. Five came on in the space of a minute, with England switching to a three-man attack and a mazy dribble by Lita immediately hinting at the former Bristol City striker's confidence.

One of Spain's replacements, Xisco, also announced his arrival with a flourish, his 68th-minute shot defeating Carson's dive before coming back off a post. After Lita's level best, Jurado came tantalisingly close with a diagonal shot, while Kieran Richardson's long-range effort brought a flying save from Adan. By then, however, neither side deserved to lose.

England Under-21 (4-2-3-1): Carson (Charlton/Liverpool); Hoyte (Arsenal), S Taylor (Newcastle), Davies (West Bromwich), A Taylor (Middlesbrough); Huddlestone (Tottenham), Reo-Coker (West Ham); Bentley (Blackburn), Milner (Newcastle), Young (Aston Villa); Nugent (Preston). Substitutes used: Hart (gk, Tranmere/Manchester City) for Carson, 82; Rosenior (Fulham) for A Taylor, 61; Richardson (Manchester United) for Huddlestone, 51; Walcott (Arsenal) for Young, h-t;Lita (Reading) for Milner, 61.

Spain Under-21 (4-1-4-1): Adan; Barragan, Sergio, Torrejon, Torres ; Pallardo; Leon, Raul Garcia, Jurado, Alfaro; Solardo. Substitutes used: Monreal (for Torres, 60), Mario (for Alfaro, 77), Granero (for Raul Garcia, 77), Xisco (for Leon, 60), Mata (for Olardo, 60).

Referee: W Collum (Scotland).